— 


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i 


THE  CASE  FOR 
SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


ARTHUR  CONAN  DOYLE 


By  SIR  ARTHUR  CONAN  DOYLE 


On  the  Life  Hereafter 
THE  NEW  REVELATION 
THE  VITAL  MESSAGE 
THE  COMING  OF  THE  FAIRIES 
THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 
THE  WANDERINGS  OF  A SPIRITUALIST 
OUR  AMERICAN  ADVENTURE 

A History  of  the  Great  War 

THE  BRITISH  CAMPAIGN  IN 

FRANCE  AND  FLANDERS — S Vols. 

Poems 

THE  GUARDS  CAME  THROUGH 

Novels  and  Stories 

DANGER!  And  Other  Stories 
THE  DOINGS  OF  RAFFLES  HAW 
HIS  LAST  BOW 

Some  Latin  Reminiscences 
of  Sherlock  Holmes 


NEW  YORK 

GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


THE  CASE  FOR 
SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


BY 

ARTHUR  CONAN  DOYLE 


WITH  CORROBORATIVE  EVIDENCE  BY 
EXPERIENCED  RESEARCHERS 
AND  PHOTOGRAPHERS 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  xsr  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  1923, 

BY  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY.  I 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PREFACE 


The  publicity  given  to  the  recent  attacks  on  Psychic 
Photography  has  been  out  of  all  proportion  to  their 
scientific  value  as  evidence.  When  Sir  Arthur  Conan 
Doyle  returned  to  Great  Britain,  after  his  successful 
tour  in  America,  the  controversy  was  in  full  swing.  With 
characteristic  promptitude  he  immediately  decided  to 
meet  these  negative  attacks  by  a positive  counter-attack, 
and  this  volume  is  the  outcome  of  that  decision. 

We  have  used  the  term  “Spirit  Photography”  on 
the  title-page  as  being  the  popular  name  by  which  these 
phenomena  are  known.  This  does  not  imply  that  either 
Sir  Arthur  or  I imagine  that  everything  supernormal 
must  be  of  spirit  origin.  There  is,  undoubtedly,  a 
broad  borderland  where  these  photographic  effects  may 
be  produced  from  forces  contained  within  ourselves. 
This  merges  into  those  higher  phenomena  of  which 
many  cases  are  here  described.  Those  desiring  fuller 
information  on  this  subject  are  referred  to  “Photo- 
graphing the  Invisible,”  by  James  Coates. 

It  was  only  when  editing  the  matter  for  these  pages 
that  I fully  realised  what  an  overwhelming  mass  of 
reliable  material  we  had  to  work  upon.  In  restricting 
this  book  to  the  necessary  limits  it  has  only  been  pos- 
sible to  make  use  of  a small  portion  of  this  evidence. 
Many  more  cases  have  been  placed  on  record  and  may 
be  published  on  some  future  occasion.  Most  of  the 

[y] 


PREFACE 


letters  accompanying  these  descriptions  display  a deep 
and  genuine  affection  for  the  maligned  mediums  of 
the  Crewe  Circle.  Our  hearty  thanks  are  due  to  all 
those  friends  who  have  so  readily  co-operated  in  this 
work  and  who  are  so  willing  to  brave  the  discomforts 
of  publicity  for  what  they  know  to  be  the  truth. 


Fred  Barlow. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface  by  Fred  Barlow v 

CHAPTER 

I THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 13 

II  SOME  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES 21 

III  EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS  ....  28 

IV  AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE  AND  HIS  CRITICS  . 38 

V FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  CONSIDERED 55 

VI  THE  ATTACK  ON  MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE  60 

VII  THE  GENESIS  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 

BY  MISS  F.  R.  SCATCHERD 70 

VIII  EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS  OF  PSYCHIC 

PHOTOGRAPHY  BY  FRED  BARLOW 79 

IX  CONCLUSIVE  PROOF  FROM  MANY  SOURCES  ...  96 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Barlow,  Mr.  H.  D.,  Psychic  and  Normal  Photographs  of  127 
Burgess,  Mrs.,  with  Psychic  Picture  of  Her  Uncle  . . 127 

Buxton,  Mrs.,  and  Daughter,  with  Psychic  Picture  of 

Her  Father  47 

Colley,  Archdeacon,  Psychic  Message  in  the  Handwriting 

of 14 

Colley,  Archdeacon,  Normal  Handwriting  of  ...  14 

Colley,  Archdeacon,  Photomicrograph  of  Portion  of  Nor- 
mal Signature 78 

Colley,  Archdeacon,  Photomicrograph  of  Portion  of  Sig- 
nature in  Psychic  Message 78 

Crawford,  Dr.  W.  J.,  Psychic  Message  in  the  Handwrit- 
ing of 15 

Crawford,  Dr.  W.  J.,  Normal  Handwriting  of  . 15 

Crookes,  Sir  William,  with  Psychic  Face 31 

Cushman,  Agnes,  Psychic  Picture  of 63 

Cushman,  Agnes,  Normal  Photograph  of 63 

Doyle,  Sir  Arthur  Conan,  and  Group,  with  Psychic  Mes- 
sage from  Archdeacon  Colley 14 

East,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.,  with  Psychic  and  Normal  Pic- 
tures of  Son 47 

Foulds,  Mrs.  R.,  with  Psychic  Photograph  of  Her  Mother  no 
Foulds,  Mrs.  R.,  Normal  Photograph  of  the  Mother  of  no 
Griere,  Mrs.  A.  E.,  with  Psychic  Likeness  of  Husband 

and  Father m 

Griere,  Mrs.  A.  E.,  Photograph  of  the  Husband  of  . . in 

[ix] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Jeffrey,  Mr.  Wm.,  and  Daughter,  Showing  Ectoplasmic 

Bag 62 

Jeffrey,  Mr.  Wm.,  and  Daughter,  with  Psychic  Likeness 

of  Mrs.  Jeffrey 62 

Maddocks,  Mr.  S.,  with  Psychic  Likeness  of  First  Wife  95 
Maddocks,  Mr.  S.,  Normal  Photograph  of  the  First 

Wife  of 95 

Pickup,  Mrs.,  with  Psychic  Likeness  of  Husband  . . . 126 

Pickup,  Mrs.,  Photograph  of  the  Husband  of  . . . . 126 

S.S.S.P.,  Group  Photograph  with  Psychic  Face  ...  30 

Spencer,  Major  R.  E.  E.,  with  Psychic  Face  ....  31 

Tweedale,  the  Rev.  C.  L.,  and  Wife,  with  Psychic  Like- 
ness of  Mrs.  Tweedale’s  Father  ......  46 

Tweedale,  the  Rev.  C.  L.,  Photograph  of  the  Father- 

in-law  of 46 

Walker,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry,  and  Friends,  with  Psychic 

Likeness  of  Mr.  Wm.  Walker 79 

Walker,  Mr.  Wm.,  with  Psychic  Message  in  Handwrit- 
ing of  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead 79 

Walker,  Mr.  Wm.,  Psychic  Message  in  Handwriting  of  94 

Walker,  Mr.  Wm.,  Specimen  of  Handwriting  of  94 


W 


THE  CASE  FOR 
SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


* 


THE  CASE  FOR 
SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 

An  accusation  of  a damaging,  and,  as  I believe,  of  an 
entirely  unfounded  character,  has  been  brought  forward 
by  Mr.  Harry  Price  against  Mr.  Hope,  whose  name 
has  for  more  than  seventeen  years  been  associated  with 
the  strange  phenomenon  which  has  been  called  spirit 
photography.  I will  deal  later  with  this  accusation  with 
which  the  Society  for  Psychic  Research  has  unfor- 
tunately associated  itself  by  publishing  the  report  of 
it  in  their  official  journal.  Before  touching  upon  it  I 
should  wish  to  take  a broader  sweep  and  to  show  the 
overpowering  weight  of  evidence  which  exists  as  to 
the  reality  of  Mr.  Hope’s  most  remarkable  gift. 

If  a man  were  accused  of  cowardice  it  would  be 
natural  that  his  defender  should  not  confine  himself 
to  the  particular  case,  but  should  examine  the  man’s 
whole  career  and  put  forward  instances  of  valour  as 
an  argument  against  the  charge.  So  also  if  a man  is 
accused  of  dishonesty  a long  record  of  honesty  would 
be  his  most  complete  defence.  Therefore  in  consider- 
ing  the  case  of  Mr.  Hope,  and  the  value  of  his  medium- 

[13] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


ship,  one  must  not  limit  one’s  investigation  to  a single 
case,  where  errors  of  observation  and  of  deduction  may 
creep  in,  but  must  take  a broader  view  which  will 
embrace  an  account  of  a long  series  of  cases,  vouched 
for  by  men  and  women  of  the  highest  character,  and 
incompatible  with  any  form  of  fraud.  If  the  reader 
will  have  the  patience  to  follow  my  facts  and  my  argu- 
ment, I hope  to  make  it  clear  to  any  unprejudiced  mind 
that  there  is  overwhelming  evidence  that  we  have  in 
Mr.  Hope  a man  endowed  with  most  singular  powers, 
and  that,  instead  of  persecuting  and  misrepresenting 
him,  it  would  be  wiser  if  we  took  a sympathetic  view 
of  his  remarkable  work,  which  has  brought  consolation 
to  the  afflicted,  and  conviction  to  many  who'  had  lost 
all  belief  in  the  independent  life  of  the  spirit. 

Many  speak  of  Mr.  Hope  and  of  the  Crewe  Circle 
without  any  definite  idea  of  what  the  words  mean.  Let 
me  explain,  then,  that  Mr.  William  Hope,  who  is  a 
working-man,  discovered,  some  seventeen  years  ago, 
quite  by  chance,  that  this  remarkable  power  of  pro- 
ducing extra  faces,  figures  or  objects  upon  photographic 
plates  had  been  given  to  him.  In  the  first  instance  he 
was  taking  a fellow-workman,  and  the  plate,  when 
developed,  was  found  to  contain  an  extra  figure  which 
was  recognised  as  being  a likeness  of  his  comrade’s 
sister,  who  had  recently  passed  away. 

This  form  of  mediumship  is  rare,  but  from  the  days 
of  Mumler,  who  first  showed  it  in  1861,  there  has 
never  been  a time  when  one  or  more  sensitives  have 
not  been  able  to  demonstrate  it. 

Hope  was  greatly  surprised  at  his  own  results,  but 
he  had  the  good  fortune  in  early  days  to  meet  the  late 

[14] 


Fig.  1. — -Impression  received  upon  a marked  Fig.  2. — Specimen  of  Archdeacon  Colley’s  writ- 

plate  which  never  left  the  author’s  hands,  save  ing  during  his  lifetime.  ( See  p.  22.) 

when  in  carrier.  ( See  p.  21.) 


Fig.  3. — Psychograph  in  the  handwriting  ot 
Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford.  ( See  p.  25.) 


Fig.  4. — Specimen  of  Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford’s  writing 
during  his  lifetime. 


THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 

Archdeacon  Colley,  an  enlightened  member  of  the 
Anglican  Church,  who  tested  his  powers,  endorsed 
them  and  appreciated  their  value.  It  was  he  who  gave 
Hope  his  first  stand  camera,  the  old-fashioned  instru- 
ment to  which  he  still  clings,  and  which,  with  its  bat- 
tered box  and  broken  leg,  is  familiar  to  many  of  us. 

No  one  knows  the  story  of  these  beginnings  so  well 
as  Miss  Scatcherd,  who  was  the  intimate  friend  of  the 
Archdeacon  and  shared  the  evidence  which  had  so  im- 
pressed him.  Miss  Scatcherd  has  kindly  consented  to 
jot  down  her  reminiscences  of  these  early  days,  that 
I may  include  them  in  the  later  pages  of  this  volume. 

Suffice  it  if  I say,  at  present,  that  Hope  has  been 
before  the  public  for  seventeen  years,  that  during  that 
time  many  special  tests  have  been  demanded  of  him 
and  have  been  successfully  met,  that  he  has  been  closely 
observed  by  experts  of  all  sorts — scientific  men  (in- 
cluding Sir  William  Crookes),  journalists,  professional 
photographers  and  others — that  he  has  patiently  sub- 
mitted himself  to  all  sorts  of  experiment,  and  that  he 
has  emerged  from  this  most  drastic  ordeal  with  the 
complete  support  and  approval  of  far  the  greater  part 
of  his  clients.  That  he  has  been  fiercely  attacked  goed 
without  saying,  for  every  medium  has  that  experience, 
but  each  fresh  allegation  against  him  has  ended  in 
smoke,  while  his  gifts  have  grown  stronger  with  time, 
so  that  the  percentage  of  blanks  in  his  results  is,  I 
should  say,  lower  than  it  used  to  be.  No  medium 
can  ever  honestly  guarantee  success,  but  it  would  prob- 
ably be  within  the  mark  if  one  claimed  that  Hope 
attained  it  three  times  out  of  five,  though  the  results 
vary  much  in  visibility  and  value,  being  mere  vague 

[15] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


outlines  in  some  cases,  and  in  others  so  detailed  in  their 
perfection  that  the  extra  is  clearer  and  more  lifelike 
than  the  sitter.  These  variations  seem  to  depend  upon 
the  state  of  health  of  the  medium,  the  qualities  of  the 
investigator,  the  atmospheric  conditions  and  other 
obscure  causes. 

In  person,  Hope  is  a man  who  gives  the  impression 
of  being  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  age,  with  the 
manner  and  appearance  of  an  intelligent  working-man. 
His  forehead  is  high  and  indicates  a good,  if  untrained, 
brain  beneath  it.  The  general  effect  of  his  face  is 
aquiline  with  large,  well-opened,  honest  blue  eyes,  and 
a moustache  which  is  shading  from  yellow  to  grey. 
His  voice  is  pleasant,  with  a North  Country  accent 
which  becomes  very  pronounced  when  he  is  excited. 
His  hands  with  their  worn  nails  and  square-ended 
fingers  are  those  of  the  worker,  and  the  least  adapted 
to  sleight-of-hand  tricks  of  any  that  I have  seen. 

Mrs.  Buxton,  who  aids  him,  is  a kindly,  pleasant- 
faced woman  on  the  sunny  side  of  middle-age.  Her 
mediumistic  powers  seem  to  be  akin  to  those  of  Hope, 
and  though  the  latter  had  all  his  earlier  results  inde- 
pendently, he  is  stronger  when  he  combines  his  forces 
with  Mrs.  Buxton’s. 

They  both  give  an  impression  of  honesty  and  frank- 
ness, which  increases  as  one  comes  to  know  them  more 
closely.  I have  never  met  two  people  who  seemed  to 
me  from  manner  and  appearance  to  be  less  likely  to  be 
in  a conspiracy  to  deceive  the  public. 

They  and  all  their  circle  are  spiritualists  of  a Salva- 
tion Army  type,  much  addicted  to  the  hearty  singing 
of  hymns  and  the  putting  up  of  impromptu  prayers. 

[16] 


THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 


Hope,  the  most  unconventional  of  beings,  has  been 
known  in  the  midst  of  one  of  his  photographic  lectures 
(which  he  delivers  occasionally  in  his  shirt-sleeves)  to 
say,  “And  now,  my  friends,  we  will  warm  up  with  a 
hymn,”  in  which  the  audience,  unable  to  escape,  has 
to  acquiesce.  It  is  a type  of  character  which  associates 
itself  sometimes,  I admit,  with  a loathsome  form  of 
hypocrisy,  but  which  has  in  it  something  peculiarly 
childlike  and  sweet  when  it  is  perfectly  honest  and 
spontaneous  as  it  is,  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  in  the 
case  of  the  two  mediums  in  question. 

Some  prejudice  can  be  excited  against  Hope  by  the 
mere  assertion  that  he  is  a professional  medium.  The 
public  is  aware  that  fraud — sometimes  unhappily  real, 
sometimes  only  alleged — is  too  often  associated  with 
this  profession.  Sufficient  allowance  is  not  made  for 
the  fact  that  the  papers  only  take  note  of  psychic  things 
when  they  go  wrong,  and  never  when  they  go  right. 
The  dishonest  medium  is  so  easily  found  out  that  one 
could  hardly  make  a living  at  so  precarious  a trade. 

In  a very  extended  experience,  which  covers  many 
hundreds  of  seances,  I have  only  encountered  fraud 
three  or  four  times.  Had  I registered  those  cases  and 
omitted  the  others,  I would  have  given  the  impression 
of  continued  fraud,  which  is  exactly  how  the  matter 
is  presented  to  the  public  who  are  continually  hood- 
winked, not  by  the  spiritualists  but  by  the  critics  and 
so-called  “exposers”  who  represent  what  is  exceptional 
as  being  constant. 

It  is  exactly  this  prejudice  which  prevents  a medium 
or  his  friends  from  bringing  an  action  for  libel,  so 
that  the  unhappy  man  or  woman  becomes  a butt  for 

[17] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


any  charge  or  any  ridicule,  the  assailants  knowing  well 
that  the  ordinary  legal  rights  of  a Briton  are  hardly 
applicable  to  one  who  can  be  represented  as  living  from 
a profession  which  is  not  recognised  by  our  laws.  This 
cowardly  medium-baiting  will  cease  only  when  the  pub- 
lic show,  by  abstaining  from  the  purchase  of  the  jour- 
nals which  pursue  it,  that  they  have  no  sympathy  with 
such  persecutions. 

I would  wish  to  point  out,  however,  that  Hope  is  not 
in  a strict  sense  a professional  medium.  I have  never 
met  anyone  who  seemed  to  me  less  venal  than  he.  I 
am  aware  of  a case  where  an  exploiter  approached  him 
with  a proposal  to  turn  his  gift  into  money,  but  was 
received  in  the  coldest  possible  manner.  Twice  when 
I have  sat  with  him  at  Crewe  he  has  refused  to  take 
a fee,  though  he  could  never  have  known  that  the  fact 
would  be  made  public.  It  is  true  that  on  each  occasion 
I disregarded  him  to  the  extent  of  leaving  some  re- 
membrance upon  the  mantelpiece  when  his  back  was 
turned,  but  I have  been  assured  by  others  that  he  has 
again  and  again  refused  all  remuneration  for  his  sit- 
ting, and  has  charged  the  ridiculous  sum  of  4s.  6d.  per 
dozen  for  prints  from  the  negatives  obtained.  This 
sum  is  calculated  upon  the  average  time  expended  at 
the  rate  of  his  own  trade  earnings.  I do  not  wish  to 
overstate  this  side  of  the  question  or  to  pretend  that 
he  would  not  be  open  to  a present  from  a grateful  client. 
Of  how  many  of  us  could  that  be  honestly  said?  But 
my  point  is  that  his  gifts  have  been  as  open  to  the  poor 
as  to  the  rich — which  all  spiritual  gifts  should  be. 

It  is,  of  course,  another  matter  when  he  comes  to 
London  and  gives  sittings  by  appointment  at  the  British 

[18] 


THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 


College  of  Psychic  Science.  That  college  is  an  ex- 
pensive and  most  useful  establishment,  which  is  run, 
with  a yearly  deficit,  through  the  generosity  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hewat  McKenzie,  and  it  is  only  right  that 
those  who  use  it  should  contribute  an  adequate  sum 
to  its  maintenance. 

To  illustrate  my  remarks  upon  Hope’s  character  and 
the  general  lines  upon  which  the  Crewe  Circle  is  con- 
ducted, I would  like  to  give  this  extract  from  the  letter 
of  a miner,  Mr.  East,  of  36,  New  Street,  Port  Talbot, 
who  describes  an  experience  which  he  had  in  1920. 
After  giving  an  account  of  the  precautions  taken,  and 
of  the  appearance  upon  the  plate  of  his  son’s  face : 
[See  Figure  11.] 

“Hundreds  of  persons  who  knew  him  have  seen 
the  photo  and  recognised  him.”  He  adds : “When 
I asked  what  their  charges  were,  Mr.  Hope  replied : 
‘Four  and  sixpence  a dozen.  For  the  sitting,  noth- 
ing. This  is  a gift  from  God  and  we  dare  not  charge 
for  what  is  freely  given  us.  Our  pay  is  often  the 
wonder  and  joy  depicted  on  the  faces  of  those,  like 
yourselves,  who  have  found  that  their  loved  ones 
are  not  entirely  lost  to  them.  We  get  all  kinds  and 
classes  of  people  here.  Some  even  are  threadbare 
and  too  poor  to  pay  train- fare,  but  we  treat  them 
all  alike  as  we  recognise  in  each  a brother  or  sister.’ 
“I  could  not  but  be  impressed  by  the  Christ-spirit 
of  the  two  friends,  whom  we  had  never  seen  before 
that  short  half-hour,  and  not  since.  And  when  I 
read  of  men  who  try  to  make  those  two  persons 
appear  something  detestable  I go  back  in  memory 
to  that  day  when  it  was  our  good  fortune  to  meet 
them  and  recall  their  more  than  kind  attitude  to 
two  bruised  hearts.  God  bless  them,  say  I.” 


[19] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


With  these  preliminary  remarks  I will  now  lay  be- 
fore the  reader  a selection  of  cases  which  I have  taken 
from  Mr.  Hope’s  record,  and  I will  ask  him  to  read 
them  carefully  and  see  if  they  can  be  reconciled  with 
any  possible  system  of  fraud.  We  are,  of  course, 
always  open  to  the  objection  that  a man  may  be  per- 
fectly honest  fifty  times  and  fraudulent  the  fifty-first. 
That  is  undeniable  and  constitutes  the  great  difficulty 
in  dealing  with  isolated  cases  where  no  impartial  wit- 
ness was  present,  and  where  both  the  accusation  and 
the  defence  are  equally  ex-par te  statements.  We  can 
only  say  in  rebuttal  that  previous  honesty  must  pre- 
dispose us  to  assume  that  there  is  no  fraud,  and  re- 
mind our  readers  that  if  we  can  only  show  one  single 
case,  which  is  absolutely  beyond  criticism,  then  we  have 
for  ever  settled  the  larger  contention,  that  it  is  possible 
in  the  presence  of  certain  individuals,  whom  we  call 
mediums,  to  produce  effects  which  are  super-normal 
and  which  would  appear  to  indicate  separate  intelli- 
gences acting  visibly  quite  independently  of  ourselves. 


[20] 


CHAPTER  II 


SOME  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES 

I will  first  give  an  account  of  my  own  visit  to  Crewe 
which  was  in  the  summer  of  1919.  I bought  my  plates 
in  Manchester  and  then  travelled  over  to  keep  the 
appointment  which  had  been  made  a week  before. 
Arriving  at  Crewe,  I went  down  to  the  little  house  in 
Market  Street,  which  is  so  modest  and  humble  that  it 
furnishes  an  argument  in  itself  against  any  undue 
cupidity  on  the  part  of  its  tenant.  Two  spiritualistic 
friends,  Mr.  Oaten,  editor  of  the  Two  Worlds,  and 
Mr.  Walker,  were  my  companions. 

Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton  were  waiting  for  us, 
and,  after  a short  religious  service,  Mr.  Hope  and  I 
went  into  the  dark  room.  There  I opened  the  packet 
of  plates,  put  two  into  the  carrier  and  marked  them 
then  and  there.  The  carrier  was  then  taken  into  the 
room  and  Mr.  Hope  inserted  it  into  the  camera.  We 
three  spiritualists  sat  in  front  with  a rug,  or  blanket, 
as  a background.  The  exposure  having  been  made, 
the  carrier  was  taken  back  into  the  dark  room  where, 
with  my  own  hands,  I took  out  the  plates,  developed 
them  and  fixed  them.  So  far  as  I could  judge,  there 
was  at  no  stage  any  possibility  of  changing  the  plates. 

But  this  question  does  not  really  arise.  No  changing 
of  plates  would  account  for  the  effect  actually  pro- 
duced. This  effect  I have  shown  in  Figure  1.  There 

[21] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

is  a hazy  cloud  covering  us  of  what  I will  describe  as 
ectoplasm,  though  my  critics  are  very  welcome  to  call 
it  cotton- wool  if  it  eases  their  feelings  to  do  so.  In 
one  corner  appears  a partial  materialisation  of  what 
seems  to  be  the  hair  and  forehead  of  a young  man. 
Across  the  plate  is  scraw  led,  4 "Well  done.  Friend  Doyle, 
I welcome  you  to  Crew  e.  Greetings  to  all.  T.  Colley." 

I have  already  explained  that  Archdeacon  Colley  was 
the  founder  of  the  Crewe  Circle,  and  if,  as  we  believe, 
wTe  continue  our  interest  after  death  it  would  seem  not 
unnatural  that  he  should  send  a kindly  w ord  to  a visitor 
who  wras  working  for  the  cause.  How  can  we  deter- 
mine that  the  message  was  really  from  Archdeacon 
Colley?  The  obvious  way  would  be  to  get  a sample 
of  his  wTriting  in  life  and  to  compare  it  with  that  upon 
the  plate.  This  I have  done,  as  showm  in  Figure  2.  Can 
anyone  deny  that  the  handwriting  is  the  same  in  both 
instances,  or  can  anyone  suppose  that  the  rough  script 
of  Hope  could  possibly  be  modified  into  the  scholarly 
handwriting  of  the  Archdeacon?  Whence,  then,  did 
this  message  come?  Does  anyone  imagine  that  a pri- 
vate forger  is  retained  by  Hope  and  lurks  somewhere  in 
that  humble  abode  ? It  is  a problem  which  calls  for  an 
answer,  and  no  talk  about  conjuring  tricks  or  trans- 
position of  plates  has  the  least  bearing  upon  it.  It  may 
be  remarked  incidentally  that  my  own  strong  desire 
was  to  obtain  some  sign  from  my  son  who  had  passed 
away  the  year  before.  The  result  seemed  to  show*  that 
our  personal  wishes  do  not  effect  the  outcome. 

Having  failed  to  get  what  I desired,  I remained  at 
Crewe  for  the  night,  and  next  morning  wTent  dowm  to 
Market  Street  again.  On  this  occasion  I used  Hope’s 

[22] 


SOME  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES 


own  plates,  having  left  mine  at  the  hotel.  He  gave  me 
the  choice  of  several  packets.  The  result  obtained 
under  all  the  precautions  which  I could  adopt  (it  would 
only  weary  the  reader  if  I gave  every  point  of  detail) 
was  a photograph  of  the  face  of  a young  man  beside 
my  own.  It  was  not  a good  likeness  of  my  son,  though 
it  resembled  him  as  he  was  some  eight  years  before  his 
death.  Of  the  three  results  which  I obtained  at  Crewe 
it  was  the  one  which  impressed  me  least.  On  exam- 
ination with  a lens  it  was  noticeable  that  the  counte- 
nance was  pitted  with  fine  dots,  as  in  the  case  of  process 
printing.  This  is  to  be  noticed  in  a certain  proportion, 
possibly  one  in  ten,  of  Hope’s  results,  and  occurs  in  the 
case  of  persons  whose  faces  could  by  no  possibility 
have  appeared  in  newspapers.  One  can  only  suppose 
that  it  is  in  some  way  connected  with  the  psychic 
process,  and  some  have  imagined  a reticulated  screen 
upon  which  the  image  is  built  up.  I am  content  to 
note  the  fact  without  attempting  to  explain  it.  I have 
observed  the  same  effect  in  other  psychic  photographs. 

The  third  result  was  the  most  remarkable  of  any. 
I had  read  that  Hope  can  get  images  without  the  use 
of  the  camera,  but  the  statement  sounded  incredible. 
He  now  asked  me  to  mark  a plate  and  put  it  in  a carrier, 
which  I did.  We  then  placed  our  hands  on  either  side 
of  the  carrier,  Mrs.  Buxton  and  her  sister  joining  in. 
At  the  end  of  about  a minute  Hope  gave  a sort  of 
shudder,  and  intimated  that  he  thought  a result  had 
been  obtained.  On  putting  the  plate  into  the  solution 
a disc  the  size  of  a shilling,  perfectly  black,  sprang  up 
in  the  centre  of  it.  On  development  this  resolved  itself 
into  a luminous  circle  with  the  face  of  a female  deli- 

[23] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


cately  outlined  within  it.  Under  the  chin  is  a disc  of 
white,  and  two  fingers  which  are  pointing  to  it.  Th6 
disc  is  evidently  a brooch,  and  the  pointing  seemed  to 
indicate  that  it  was  meant  to  be  evidential.  The  face 
bore  a strong  resemblance  to  that  of  my  elder  sister, 
who  died  some  thirty  years  ago.  Upon  sending  the 
print  to  my  other  sisters  they  not  only  confirmed  this, 
but  they  reminded  me  that  my  sister  had  a very  re- 
markable ivory  brooch  in  her  lifetime  and  that  it  was 
just  the  one  object  which  might  best  have  been  chosen 
as  a test.  I regret  that  this  picture  is  so  delicate  that 
it  will  not  bear  reproduction. 

Such  were  my  three  results  at  Crewe,  and  I should, 
I hold,  have  been  devoid  of  reason  had  I not  been  deeply 
impressed  by  them.  Here  was  a message  in  Arch- 
deacon Colley’s  own  handwriting.  Here  was  a test 
from  my  own  dead  sister  which  seemed  to  be  beyond 
all  possible  coincidence,  apart  from  the  extraordinary 
way  in  which  the  picture  was  obtained.  Neither  sleight- 
of-hand  nor  transference  of  plates  could  have  any  bear- 
ing upon  such  results  as  those.  Their  full  significance 
was  not  realised  until  I had  made  enquiries,  but  after 
that  time  I felt  it  impossible  to  doubt  the  super-normal 
nature  of  the  powers  which  had  produced  such  effects. 

It  might  perhaps  be  argued  that  as  Archdeacon 
Colley’s  writing  was  familiar  to  Hope,  he  had,  in  spite 
of  his  disabilities,  made  some  special  effort  to  master 
and  reproduce  it.  As  a matter  of  fact,  however,  this 
case  does  not  stand  alone,  and  many  evidential  writings 
have  been  obtained  at  Crewe,  notably  those  of  W.  T. 
Stead  and  of  the  late  Dr.  Crawford.  The  latter  is  a 
recent  incident,  and  I would  take  it  as  my  next  example, 

[24] 


SOME  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES 

since  it  illustrates  this  phenomenon  of  writing,  and  is 
again  free  from  the  bogey  of  transposition. 

Upon  June  30  of  this  year  (1922)  three  delegates 
from  Belfast,  Mr.  Skelton,  Mr.  Gillmour  and  Mr. 
Donaldson,  were  coming  over  to  the  London  Spirit- 
ualists’ Conference.  They  broke  their  journey  at 
Crewe  in  order  to  have  a sitting  with  Mr.  Hope,  who 
was  in  deep  distress  at  the  time  on  account  of  the 
attack  made  upon  him  in  Mr.  Price’s  report.  It  is 
worth  noting  that  Mrs.  Crawford,  the  widow  of  Dr. 
Crawford,  had  come  over  with  them  on  the  boat,  and 
that  Dr.  Crawford’s  affairs  had  been  under  discussion, 
though  Hope  had  no  means  of  knowing  it.  Under 
good  fraud-proof  conditions,  on  their  own  specially- 
marked  plate,  the  visitors  obtained  a message  in  Dr. 
Crawford’s  handwriting,  which  runs  thus,  I supply- 
ing the  punctuation: 

“Dear  Mr.  Hope, 

“Needless  to  say  I am  with  you  where  psychic 
work  is  concerned,  and  you  can  be  sure  of  my  sym- 
pathy and  help.  I know  all  the  difficulties  and  un- 
certainties connected  with  the  subject.  I am  keenly 
interested  in  your  circle  and  will  co-operate  with  you. 
Regarding  your  enemies  who  would  by  hook  or  by 
crook  dispose  of  the  phenomena,  leave  them  alone. 
I,  W.  J.  Crawford,  of  Belfast,  am  here  in  Crewe 
on  Friday,  June  30th. 

“W.  J.  Crawford.” 

Each  word  is  on  its  own  little  patch  of  ectoplasm, 
or  upon  its  own  pad  of  cotton-wool,  if  the  critics 
prefer  it,  though  it  would  puzzle  them,  I think,  to  re- 
produce the  effect  which  is  given  in  Figure  3.  The  plate 

[25] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


alongside  (Figure  4)  shows  a reproduction  of  an  actual 
note  of  Crawford’s  which  will  enable  the  reader  to 
judge  the  extreme  similarity  of  the  script.  Once  more 
we  confront  the  critic  with  this  fact  and  ask  him  to 
face  the  difficulty  and  to  tell  us  whence  this  writing 
came ; whether  it  is  a production  of  Mr.  Hope’s,  or 
whether  the  theory  of  a private  forger  upon  the  prem- 
ises can  be  sustained. 

Apart  from  these  cases  of  the  reproduction  of  hand- 
writing, copies  of  documents  have  appeared  upon  the 
plates  at  Crewe  which  could  by  no  means  have  got  there 
in  a normal  fashion.  A case  in  point  is  given  in  detail 
by  the  Reverend  and  venerable  Professor  Henslow  on 
p.  217  of  his  Proofs  of  Spiritualism.  In  this  case,  the 
truth  of  which  is  vouched  for  by  the  Professor,  al- 
though it  did  not  actually  occur  to  him,  the  plates  were 
held  between  the  hands  of  the  sitters  in  the  manner 
already  described,  but  the  packet  had  not  been  opened 
and  was  as  it  had  come  from  the  chemist.  When  the 
packet  was  opened  and  the  plates  developed  there  was 
found  impressed  upon  the  fifth  plate  a number  of 
Greek  characters,  which  proved  to  be  a copy  of  four 
lines  of  the  Codex  Alexandrinus , a rare  Greek  text 
kept  in  a glass  case  in  the  British  Museum.  The  in- 
teresting point  appears  that  the  two  documents  are  not 
facsimiles,  and  that  there  is  some  slight  difference  in 
the  formation  of  the  letters,  thus  meeting  the  objection 
that  the  text  photographed  might  have  been  got  from 
some  facsimile  of  the  original  Codex.  The  photo- 
graphs of  the  original  Greek  and  of  the  Crewe  repro- 
duction are  given  in  Professor  Henslow’s  work.  Here, 
again,  we  may  well  ask  the  critic  to  face  the  facts  and 

[26] 


SOME  PERSONAL  EXPERIENCES 


to  give  us  some  feasible  explanation  as  to  how  this 
Greek  text  was  precipitated  on  to  a plate  in  a sealed 
packet  under  the  mediumship  of  an  unlearned  carpenter 
at  Crewe. 


CHAPTER  III 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 

We  will  now  turn  to  the  reproduction  of  faces,  and 
I will  give  an  instance  where  all  the  stock  theories  about 
changing  or  superposition  of  plates  become  untenable. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Supernormal  Pictures,  I being  present,  a photograph 
of  the  members  was  taken  in  the  normal  way  as  a 
souvenir.  As  Hope  was  present,  it  was  suggested 
that  a second  photograph  be  taken  by  him  in  the  hope 
that  we  might  get  some  psychic  effect.  The  plate 
was  taken  from  an  unopened  packet  in  the  pocket  of 
the  secretary,  and  some  fifteen  of  us  were  witnesses  of 
the  whole  transaction.  Hope  had  no  warning  at  all, 
and  could  have  made  no  preparation.  The  plate 
was  at  once  developed  by  one  of  our  own  members, 
and  a well-marked  extra,  amid  a cloud  of  ectoplasm, 
appeared  upon  the  picture.  This  extra  was  claimed  by 
one  of  our  members  as  a good  likeness  of  his  dead 
father.  This  result,  which  is  illustrated  by  Figure  5, 
was  obtained  before  an  audience  of  experts,  if  any  men 
in  this  world  have  a right  to  call  themselves  experts 
upon  this  subject.  How  can  it  be  explained  by  fraud 
and  how  can  such  a case  be  lightly  set  aside?  Grant- 
ing for  argument’s  sake  that  the  sitter  may  have  been 

[28] 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 


mistaken  in  the  recognition,  how  can  the  actual  psychic 
effect  be  accounted  for? 

It  happens,  occasionally,  that  these  ghost-faces  which 
appear  upon  the  plates  retain  some  remarkable  physical 
peculiarity  which  prove  beyond  all  question  who  they 
represent.  One  such  case  has  been  handed  to  me  by 
the  Countess  of  Malmesbury,  whose  own  account  is 
so  clear  and  condensed  that  it  could  not  be  bettered: 

“I  sat  with  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton  on  Friday, 
December  9th,  1921,  and  was  accompanied  by  ‘Val 
L’Estrange, ’ a lady  professional  photographer,  who 
watched  the  proceedings  on  my  behalf,  as  I do  not 
understand  photography.  She  states  that  from  first 
to  last  she  could  not  detect  any  fraud.  As  I sat  for 
the  photograph  the  wish  just  crossed  my  mind  that 
I might  obtain  a photograph  of  J.  H.,  who  died  in 
1880,  and  that  I could  receive  a definite  sign  that  it 
was  genuine. 

“J.  H.  died  as  the  result  of  an  operation  for  the 
removal  of  the  lower  jaw,  which  had  been  seriously 
injured.  No  one  saw  him  after  this  terrible  mis- 
fortune except  five  persons,  of  whom  I am  the  only 
survivor,  and  I need  not  say  that  no  photograph  was 
then  taken  of  him. 

“I  showed  the  photograph  to  Dr.  Fielding  Ould, 
who  at  once  recognised  it  as  that  of  a man  who  had 
had  his  lower  jaw  removed.  This  opinion  was  con- 
firmed by  several  of  his  medical  friends,  to  whom  he 
showed  the  picture. 

‘‘I  should  add  that  the  plates  were  bought  by  ‘Val 
L’Estrange’  direct  from  the  manufacturer,  and  that 
we  brought  them  with  us.  The  exposure  was  forty 
seconds.  The  plate  which  produced  the  portrait  was 
manipulated  by  Mr.  Hope  under  the  supervision  of 
‘Val  L’Estrange.’  We  both  superintended  the  de- 
velopment and  fixing  of  the  negative. 

[29] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

“As  an  impartial  investigator  of  psychic  matters 
I have  stated  exactly  what  took  place,  without 
comment. 

{signed)  Susan,  Countess  of  Malmesbury.” 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  case,  so  exactly  re- 
corded, would  be  a difficult  one  to  explain  away. 

I would  now  quote  the  case  furnished  by  Major 
Spencer,  who  is  an  experienced  and  careful  observer, 
and  has  given  much  attention  to  psychic  photography. 
In  this  experiment  he  used  his  own  camera,  his  own 
carriers  and  his  own  plates.  What  could  be  more  dras- 
tic than  that ! He  says,  if  I may  abbreviate  his  account : 

“The  box  of  plates  was  never  out  of  my  sight  and 
was  cut  open  in  the  dark  room  by  myself;  Hope  or 
Mrs.  Buxton  in  no  instance  touching  them.” 

The  red  light,  he  explains,  was  a good  one  and  he 
could  see  all  that  occurred. 

“Hope  stood  on  my  left  hand  for  the  whole  time 
in  the  dark  room  and  I kept  the  box  of  plates  under 
my  right  elbow  during  the  operations  of  initialling 
and  inserting  the  plates  in  the  slides.  . . . My  own 
camera  remained  closed  in  my  despatch-case  (also 
closed)  till  I returned  from  the  dark  room,  when  I 
set  it  up  on  its  tripod,  extending  it,  and  focussing  it 
upon  the  chair  afterwards  used.  When  the  exposures 
were  made  by  Hope  I had  to  explain  to  him  how  to 
actuate  the  shutter,  as  the  lever  on  the  camera  front 
was  new  to  him.  The  only  contact  with  the  camera 
was  when  he  touched  this  lever.  Exposure  thirty- 
five  seconds.  Neither  Mrs.  Buxton  nor  Hope  knew 
that  I had  intended  using  my  own  camera  and  dark 
slides  till  we  met  in  the  studio.  These  slides  are 
metallic  and  each  contains  one  plate.” 

[30] 


Cironn  of  Members  of  the  S.S.S.P.  The  nsvclhc  fact  >\  i 1 1 be  seen  in  the  centre  of  the 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 


(For  the  benefit  of  the  uninitiated,  let  me  explain 
that  the  carrier  and  the  dark  slide  are  different  names 
for  the  same  thing,  the  receptacle  into  which  the  plates 
are  put  in  the  dark  room,  which  is  then  inserted  into 
the  back  of  the  camera.) 

Now  this  is  a case  which  any  reasonable  man  would 
say  eliminated  every  possible  source  of  error.  The 
actual  result  was  that  out  of  six  plates,  two  showed  un- 
recognised extra  faces.  One  of  the  results  is  reproduced 
in  Figure  6.  How  came  those  faces  upon  the  plates? 
How  can  our  critics  explain  it?  They  cannot  explain 
it,  and  yet  they  have  not  the  honesty  to  admit  their 
inability.  Among  our  chief  enemies  is  that  inner  circle 
which  for  the  moment  controls  the  destinies  of  the  So- 
ciety for  Psychical  Research.  What  flaw  do  they  find  ? 
I am  sure  the  honest  common-sense  reader  would  never 
guess.  The  flaw  adduced  is  that  Major  Spencer  left 
his  camera  inside  his  despatch-box  in  the  studio  while 
he  was  in  the  dark  room.  Mrs.  Buxton  was  in  the 
studio.  She  might  have  dashed  at  the  box,  pulled  it 
open,  dragged  out  the  camera,  and  then  . . . well,  what 
then?  No  one  can  imagine  what  the  next  stage  would 
be.  Dr.  Abraham  Wallace  has  publicly  asked  the  critic 
to  state  what  could  then  be  done  which  would  have  put 
two  human  faces  upon  different  plates  and  none  on  the 
others.  If  Major  Spencer  had  locked  his  box  it  would 
then  have  been  claimed  that  Mrs.  Buxton  had  a skeleton 
key  in  her  pocket.  It  is  puerile  criticism  of  this  sort 
which  has  lowered  that  intellectual  respect  which  we 
older  members  had  once  for  the  S.P.R.  It  is  intellectu- 
ally dishonest  and  the  sign  of  a frame  of  mind  which  is 

[3i] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

not  there  to  follow  facts  or  to  ascertain  the  truth,  but 
only  to  argue  a preconceived  case  as  a lawyer  speaks 
from  his  brief.  The  S.P.R.  (or  their  present  spokes- 
men) are  against  psychic  photography,  and  therefore 
it  is  better  to  put  up  the  most  childish  and  preposterous 
objections  rather  than  to  say  that  a case  is  clearly 
proved.  I would  appeal  to  any  impartial  mind  whether 
this  case  of  Major  Spencer’s  does  not  absolutely  cover 
every  objection. 

I would  now  give  the  case  of  the  dream-hand  of  Lady 
Grey  of  Falloden.  When  I was  going  to  Australia 
this  lady  most  kindly  wrote  out  the  facts  for  me  and 
gave  me  a copy  of  the  photograph,  which  I used  upon 
my  screen.  Lady  Glenconner,  as  she  then  was,  dreamed 
that  if  she  was  photographed  at  Crewe  she  would  see 
her  son’s  hand  resting  upon  her  left  shoulder.  She 
said  nothing  to  Hope,  but  she  put  the  fact  of  her  dream 
upon  record.  Sure  enough,  in  the  photograph  there  is 
a small  cloud  of  ectoplasm,  and  emerging  from  it  a 
hand,  which  is  resting  even  as  it  rested  in  the  dream. 
Where  does  fraud  come  in,  in  such  a case  as  that? 
Surely  those  who  circulated  a libellous  pamphlet  against 
Hope  upon  the  strength  of  a single  case  must  feel 
ashamed  when  they  consider  such  a result  as  that,  where 
no  possible  manipulation  could  have  affected  the  picture. 
Psychic  caution  is  an  admirable  quality,  but  extreme 
incredulity  is  even  more  disastrous  than  extreme  cre- 
dulity. The  psychic  investigator  should  be  a filter,  not 
a block. 

I would  now  quote  the  case  of  Mr.  Pearse,  a well- 
known  business  man  of  Manchester.  This  is  no  psychic 
fanatic,  but  a hard-headed  Northern  man  of  business. 

L32] 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 


He  visited  Hope  at  Crewe,  taking  with  him  his  own 
new  camera  and  his  own  carrier,  which  was  loaded  by 
his  daughter.  No  chance  of  transposition  here,  unless 
Hope  had  a duplicate  carrier. 

“The  result,”  he  says,  “was  an  undisputed  likeness 
to  my  father.  No  photograph  of  him  in  that  position 
is  in  existence.  Everyone  who  has  known  him  has 
recognised  him,  and  my  mother  treasures  the  photo- 
graph very  much.” 

In  this  account  the  sting  lies  in  the  statement  that 
no  such  photograph  is  in  existence.  Again  and  again — 
it  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  fifty  instances  could 
be  produced — this  statement  can  be  made.  Is  it  not 
incredible  that  people  should  be  found  who  cannot  see 
that  such  a fact  is  evidential  of  supernormal  action? 

I have  alluded  to  the  fact  that  Sir  William  Crookes 
received  such  a photograph  at  Crewe,  and  that  it  bore 
a close  resemblance  to  his  deceased  wife.  I have  not 
been  able  to  get  any  copy  of  this  photograph,  but  it  is 
devoutly  to  be  hoped  that  it,  and  Sir  William’s  invalu- 
able psychic  papers,  are  being  duly  cared  for  by  his 
executors  and  biographer,  for  they  have  there  a precious 
trust,  and  any  tampering  with  it  on  account  of  their 
individual  opinions  would  entail  upon  them  the  censure 
of  generations  yet  unborn.  In  an  interview  in  the 
Christian  Commonwealth  (December  4th,  1918)  the  in- 
terviewer, Miss  Scatcherd,  asked,  “And  may  I say 
how  you  went  north  with  another  friend  and  myself 
and  procured  on  your  own  marked  plate,  under  your 
own  conditions,  a likeness  of  your  beloved  wife,  the  late 
Lady  Crookes?”  To  which  Sir  William  answered: 

[33] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

“You  may  say  that,  since  it  is  the  truth.  . . . You  may 
add  that  the  picture  obtained  after  her  passing  on  is 
unlike  any  of  the  many  which  I possess,  but  certainly 
resembles  my  dear  one  in  her  last  days  of  failing 
health.”  In  a private  letter,  which  I have  seen,  Sir  Wil- 
liam, writing  on  December  14,  1916,  shortly  after  the 
incident,  says : “The  photograph  is  easily  recognised 
by  all  to  whom  I have  shown  it.  I find  that  it  is  very 
similar  in  likeness  to  one  I took  about  ten  years  ago, 
although  by  no  means  a facsimile  reproduction.  This 
makes  it  all  the  more  satisfactory  to  me.” 

Though  I am  unable  to  reproduce  this  photograph, 
I have  been  able,  by  the  kindness  of  Miss  Scatcherd,  to 
reproduce  (Figure  7)  the  preliminary  experimental 
photograph  got  in  Sir  William’s  laboratory,  which 
induced  him  to  take  the  Crewe  Circle  seriously.  Only 
Mr.  Hope  and  Miss  Scatcherd  were  present  on  this 
occasion.  It  was  taken,  says  the  latter,  “under  the 
strictest  conditions  that  the  genius  of  Sir  William 
Crookes,  backed  by  his  unusual  common  sense,  could 
suggest.”  The  face  here  is  not  that  of  Lady  Crookes, 
and  was  not  recognised.  But  surely  such  a result  must 
show  the  public  how  superficial  is  the  view  which  on 
the  strength  of  a single  experiment  endeavours  to  dis- 
credit the  whole  life’s  work  of  Mr.  Hope. 

Several  examples  of  Crewe  photographs  are  repro- 
duced (Figures  8,  9,  10)  which  show  the  similarity 
to  the  living  man,  and  yet  are  declared  by  the  rela- 
tives to  be  unlike  any  existing  picture.  That  which 
is  shown  on  Figure  8 is  the  result  obtained  by  that 
brave  psychic  pioneer,  the  Rev.  Charles  Tweedale,  who 
from  his  little  Yorkshire  vicarage  beckons  the  Church 

[34] 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 


on  the  road  that  it  should  go.  In  this  case  Mr.  Twee- 
dale  called  upon  Hope  without  any  appointment  and 
obtained,  as  has  several  times  been  obtained  on  sur- 
prise visits,  an  excellent  result.  The  psychic  face  is 
that  of  his  wife’s  father,  whose  features  in  life,  for 
purposes  of  comparison,  are  shown  by  Figure  9.  The 
picture  is  unlike  any  in  existence. 

I have  said  that  the  psychic  faces  are  sometimes  more 
animated  and  lifelike  than  the  original  photographs 
taken  in  life.  In  support  of  this  assertion  I would  point 
to  Figure  10.  The  old  man  who  smiles  so  happily  is 
Mrs.  Buxton’s  own  father,  then  very  recently  dead. 
I do  not  think  that  the  most  cynical  of  my  readers  will 
contend  that  a daughter  is  likely  to  make  a blasphemous 
faked  picture  of  her  own  father,  even  if  it  had  been 
possible  to  produce  so  vital  an  effect. 

Anyone  who  is  familiar  with  Hope’s  results  is  aware 
that  over  many  of  the  psychic  faces  there  appears  a roll 
or  arch  of  some  peculiar  substance  which  has  never 
been  explained  upon  any  supposition  of  fraud,  but  is 
so  constant  that  it  would  appear  to  be  part  of  the  psychic 
process.  Some  of  us  have  always  contended  that  prob- 
ably this  arch  represents  a formation  corresponding  to 
the  Cabinet  upon  this  side — an  envelope  or  enclosed 
space  within  which  psychic  forces  are  generated  and 
condensed.  The  arch  is  by  no  means  peculiar  to  Hope, 
though  the  exact  form  and  texture  of  it  is  such  that  one 
could  pick  out  a Hope  photograph  among  a hundred 
others.  This  psychic  arch,  as  it  has  been  named,  ap- 
pears in  many  forms  and  many  places,  some  of  them 
very  unexpected.  I have,  as  an  example,  a photograph 
before  me  as  I write  which  was  taken  by  Mr.  Boyd,  the 

[35] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


respected  provost  of  a Scotch  borough,  upon  a recent 
journey  which  he  made  upon  the  West  Coast  of  Africa. 
On  taking  a small  group  of  natives  he  found  an  extra 
of  a woman  and  child  (negroes)  upon  his  plate.  This 
extra  figure  is  surrounded  and  surmounted  by  the 
psychic  arch  in  an  exaggerated  form.  Mr.  Boyd  has 
no  axe  to  grind,  and,  so  far  as  I know,  he  is  not  even 
a spiritualist.  How  comes  it,  then,  that  his  result  fits 
so  definitely  into  the  arch  system,  if  it  be  not  that  there 
is  some  general  law  which  regulates  results  whether 
they  be  obtained  in  Crewe  or  on  the  Gold  Coast  ? 

Again,  I have  a friend,  an  amateur,  who  has  himself 
developed  psychic  photography  from  the  time  that  it 
was  a mere  luminous  blur  upon  his  plates,  until  now 
he  receives  very  graceful  and  perfect  pictures  which  are 
in  some  cases  recognised  faces  of  the  dead.  In  his  case 
the  arch  adjusts  itself  into  the  form  of  an  artistic  hood 
or  mantilla.  But  the  arch  principle  carries  on.  It  is 
only  by  a comprehensive  view  of  this  sort,  and  by  the 
comparison  of  different  independent  results,  that  we  are 
likely  to  get  at  some  of  the  laws  which  underlie  this 
matter.  At  present  the  system  adopted  in  quarters 
which  should  be  responsible  ones  is  to  concentrate  atten- 
tion upon  whatever  may  seem  to  be  failure  or  deception, 
and  to  take  no  notice  at  all  of  the  broader  aspects  of 
the  question.  In  every  science  the  methods  of  advance 
are  to  pay  strict  attention  to  the  positive  results  and  to 
regard  the  negative  ones  as  mere  warnings  of  what  to 
avoid.  This  process  has  been  reversed  in  considering 
psychic  photography,  and  the  world  has  been  deceived 
by  those  who  should  have  been  its  guides.  Truth  will, 
of  course,  prevail,  but  its  progress  has  been  grievously 

[36] 


EVIDENTIAL  TESTS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 


retarded  by  this  unhappy  and  unscientific  mental 
attitude. 

On  one  occasion  remarkable  evidence  was  afforded 
that  we  were  right  in  our  surmise  that  a cabinet  of 
ectoplasm  for  concentration  is  first  constructed,  and 
that  the  psychic  effect  is  developed  inside  it.  The  result, 
which  is  depicted  in  Figure  12,  was  got  by  Mr.  Jeffrey, 
of  Glasgow,  who  was,  I may  add,  the  President  of  the 
Scottish  Society  of  Magicians,  and  is  therefore  the  last 
person  to  be  deceived  by  any  sort  of  trick.  In  this  case 
the  exposure  seems  to  have  been  too  early  so  that  the 
ectoplasmic  bag  is  exposed  in  its  complete  form,  with- 
out any  contents.  In  the  second  picture,  Figure  13, 
taken  immediately  afterwards,  the  face  of  Mr.  Jeffrey’s 
deceased  wife  has  appeared,  and  the  bag  has  split  to 
show  it,  forming  the  familiar  fold  over  both  sides  of 
the  face.  This  picture  seems  to  me  to  be  quite  final  in 
showing  us  exactly  how  the  matter  is  worked  by  the 
forces  which  direct  things  upon  the  other  side. 

Each  of  these  cases  which  I have  given  is  impressive, 
I hope,  in  itself,  but  their  cumulative  effect  should  be 
overpowering.  They  are  but  selections  out  of  a very 
long  list  which  I could  provide,  but  repetition  would  be 
unprofitable,  for  if  those  which  are  here  quoted  fail  to 
convince  the  reader  then  he  is  surely  beyond  conviction. 
One  or  two  might  conceivably  be  the  result  of  imperfect 
observation  or  incorrect  statement,  but  it  is  an  insult 
to  common  sense  to  say  that  so  long  an  array  of  honour- 
able witnesses,  with  their  precise  detail,  with  their 
actual  photographic  results,  and  with  the  complete  ex- 
clusion of  any  possible  trickery,  should  all  be  explained 
in  any  normal  fashion. 


[37] 


CHAPTER  IV 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE  AND  HIS  CRITICS 

Having  said  so  much  in  support  of  Mr.  Hope’s  me- 
diumship,  let  me  say  what  I can  in  the  way  of  personal 
criticism,  for  I hold  no  particular  brief  for  him,  and  am 
only  anxious  to  follow  truth  wherever  it  may  lead.  I 
have  written  this  pamphlet  because  I think  that  truth 
has  been  grievously  obscured,  and  that  the  fruit  of 
seventeen  years  of  remarkable  psychic  demonstration 
is,  for  the  moment,  imperilled  by  the  attention  of  the 
public  being  directed  entirely  to  a single  case  which  is, 
admittedly  upon  the  face  of  it,  of  a damaging  character. 
We  spiritualists  should  be,  in  Stevenson’s  fine  phrase, 
“steel-true  and  blade-straight,”  and  we  should  never 
avoid  an  issue,  or  fall  into  the  error  of  our  opponents 
who  have  no  sense  of  balance  and  can  only  focus  their 
gaze  upon  one  side  of  a question. 

It  has  been  said  that  Hope  is  suspiciously  restless  and 
fussy  in  the  dark  room.  This,  so  far  as  my  own  obser- 
vation goes,  is  correct.  It  may  be  that  he  is  nervously 
anxious  for  success,  or  it  may  be  that  he  is  not  in  a 
normal  condition — for  he  usually  holds  a service  and 
occasionally  goes  into  apparent  trance  immediately  be- 
fore the  experiment.  Whatever  the  cause,  I am  not 
prepared  to  deny  the  fact,  or  that  not  unreasonable 
suspicions  might  be  awakened  by  his  attitude  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  are  brought  for  the  first  time  in 

[38] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


contact  with  his  personality.  I can  only  point  to  the 
cases  already  given,  and  say  once  more  that  no  action 
upon  his  part  could  have  produced  them. 

Again,  it  is  said  of  Hope  that  he  is  impatient  of  tests 
and  restrictions.  Some  of  his  best  friends  have  been 
alienated  by  this  fact.  Mediums  are  touchy  people — 
more  delicately  organised  in  many  cases  than  any  other 
human  type.  They  may  occasionally  show  an  irrational 
annoyance  and  resentment  against  any  action  which  im- 
plies personal  suspicion.  And  yet,  though  he  certainly 
prefers  to  be  left  to  his  own  methods  unrestrained  save 
by  ordinary  observation,  it  is  a fact  that  he  has  in  the 
past  consented  to  a great  number  of  tests  and  has  come 
out  of  them  remarkably  well.  I have  heard  him  say, 
“What  have  I to  gain  from  tests  ? I am  put  to  a deal 
of  trouble,  I do  what  I am  asked  to  do,  I get  result,  and 
then  I hear  no  more  about  it  except  that  perhaps  I have 
convinced  the  person.  Or  perhaps,  even  if  I have  done 
all  he  asks  in  his  own  way,  he  still  says  he  is  uncon- 
vinced.” I can  bear  him  out  in  this  latter  statement, 
for  I have  knowledge  of  three  separate  sittings  which 
he  had  with  a well-known  London  editor,  where,  under 
the  latter’s  ever  more  stringent  conditions,  Hope  got 
results  certainly  twice,  and,  I think,  thrice,  and  yet  when 
1 asked  this  editor  to  vouch  for  these  results  that  I 
might  quote  them  in  this  pamphlet,  in  the  interests  of 
truth  and  justice,  I could  get  no  reply  to  my  letter. 
This  seems  to  indicate  either  that  he  was  not  yet  satis- 
fied, though  his  own  conditions  had  been  carried  out, 
or  else  that  he  had  not  the  moral  courage  to  help  the 
medium  at  the  time  when  he  needed  testimony. 

The  incident  shows  that  there  is  some  truth  in  Hope’s 

[39] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


contention  that  tests  are  often  a waste  of  energy.  At 
the  same  time,  it  should  be  known  that  when  the  S.P.R. 
made  their  recent  attack,  founded  upon  a single  case, 
Hope  at  once  offered  to  give  fresh  sittings  and  to  sub- 
mit to  the  most  drastic  tests  so  long  as  those  who  were 
in  sympathy  were  also  associated  in  the  experiment. 
For  some  reason  the  S.P.R.  refused  this,  and  it  is  a seri- 
ous flaw  in  their  position.  None  the  less,  we  must  make 
the  admission  that,  in  general,  Hope  is  not  fond  of  tests. 

But  there  is  another  and  more  serious  admission 
which  I would  make,  although  in  doing  so  I may  pos- 
sibly be  doing  Hope  an  injustice.  He  is,  in  my  opinion, 
not  only  a spiritualist,  but  a fanatic,  which  is  a danger- 
ous thing  in  any  line  of  thought.  We  are  aware  that 
one  must  “test  the  spirits,”  but  I believe  that  Hope  has 
such  childlike  and  blind  faith  in  his  guides  that  he 
would  obey  their  directions  whatever  they  might  be. 
I recollect  one  case  where  a distinguished  man  of  science 
sent  Hope  a sealed  packet,  upon  which  the  latter  placed 
it  in  a bucket  of  water,  under  the  alleged  prompting  of 
some  spirit  message.  The  natural  result  was  to  alienate 
the  scientific  man  from  psychic  photography  for  many 
years.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  this  was  simply  a case  of 
vulgar  fraud,  but  fraud  would  be  done  in  some  manner 
which  could  be  concealed  and  not  in  so  drastic  a manner 
as  that,  and,  as  I have  shown,  fraud  does  not  at  all  fit 
in  with  Hope’s  usual  results.  I make  the  critic  a pres- 
ent of  the  case,  merely  adding  that  I believe  Hope's 
account  of  his  motives  to  be  absolutely  true,  however 
incomprehensible  it  might  seem. 

I have  now,  I hope,  convinced  any  reasonable  reader 
of  the  genuine  nature  of  Hope's  powers,  which,  after 

[40] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


all,  wonderful  as  they  may  seem,  are  by  no  means 
unique,  but  are  to  be  matched  by  those  of  several  con- 
temporaries both  in  England  and  in  America — not  all 
of  them  professionals. 

We  will  next  turn  to  the  particular  case  treated  in 
the  report  of  the  S.P.R.  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Price,  and 
afterwards  published  in  a sixpenny  form  and  widely 
distributed  gratis  with  the  evident  intention  of  ruining 
Hope.  Apart  from  its  truth  or  falseness,  the  pamphlet 
is  in  deplorable  taste,  with  puns  upon  Hope’s  name,  and 
tags  of  Johnson  and  Dry  den  dotted  over  it.  So  grave 
a subject  should  be  treated  with  dignity  even  when 
severity  is  necessary.  I will  now  state  the  case  as 
clearly  as  I can,  together  with  some  remarkable  side- 
lights which  have  appeared  since  the  publication. 

Having  determined  to  catch  Hope  out,  Mr.  Price, 
who  has  considerable  knowledge  both  of  conjuring  and 
of  photography,  procured  from  the  Imperial  Dry  Plate 
Company  eight  plates,  all  of  which  had  been  cut  from 
the  same  sheet  of  glass.  Six  of  these  plates  were  made 
up  into  a single  packet,  and  all  were  treated  by  X-rays, 
so  that  while  there  was  no  outward  sign  that  they  had 
been  marked  there  would,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  Company,  appear  upon  them  when  they  were 
developed  a design  of  the  Company’s  trademark. 

Carrying  with  him  this  doctored  packet,  and  accom- 
panied by  a friend,  Mr.  Seymour,  also  a conjurer,  Mr. 
Price  kept  an  appointment  which  Mr.  Hope  had  given 
him  at  the  British  College  of  Psychic  Science,  London, 
on  February  24th,  1922.  The  mediums  were  quite  un- 
suspicious of  any  trap,  nor  did  they  hear  anything  of 
the  matter  till  four  months  later. 

[41] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

Mr.  Price  says:  “I  made  myself  very  pleasant,  said 
how  sorry  I was  that  they  had  been  ill  with  influenza, 
and  asked  after  the  Crewe  Circle,  saying  that  my  people 
were  natives  of  Shropshire.”  A private  detective  must, 
of  course,  use  deception,  but  when  Mr.  Price  at  a later 
stage  proceeded  to  ask  that  “Onward,  Christian  sol- 
diers !”  be  the  hymn  sung,  and  suggesting  that  the  extra 
finally  shown  was  that  of  his  own  mother,  he  really  does 
seem  to  be  wallowing  in  it  to  an  unnecessary  degree. 
After  all,  the  matter  was  one  of  business;  he  had  paid 
for  his  sitting,  he  would  surely  get  it,  and  no  elaborate 
deception  was  needed. 

After  the  usual  ceremonies  Mr.  Price  and  Mr.  Hope 
went  into  the  dark  room,  where  the  package  was  opened 
and  the  two  top  plates  put  into  the  carrier.  Hope  then 
took  up  the  carrier,  asking  Price  to  wrap  up  the  remain- 
ing plates,  and  it  was  at  this  moment  that  Price  “saw 
him  . . . put  the  dark  slide  to  his  left  breast-pocket, 
and  take  it  out  again  (another  one?)  without  any  ‘talk- 
ing’ or  knocking.”  I copy  this  sentence  as  printed,  and 
it  is  curious  to  find  the  S.P.R.,  which  is  continually 
claiming  from  others  the  utmost  exactness  of  statement, 
passing  one  which  is  so  involved  and  unintelligible. 
However,  it  is  certain  that  Mr.  Price  means  that  Hope 
at  that  moment  changed  the  carriers,  though  he  does  not 
even  tell  us  where  the  second  carrier  went  to.  Mr.  Price 
had  endeavoured  to  mark  with  some  pricking  instru- 
ment of  his  thumb  the  original  carrier,  but  carriers  are 
often  of  very  hard  wood,  and  he  could  not,  one  would 
think,  have  verified  such  a result,  therefore  the  fact 
that  no  marks  of  pricks  were  found  upon  the  carrier 
cannot  be  regarded  very  seriously.  It  is  an  instructive 

[42] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 

fact  that  the  S.P.R  receives  all  these  very  loose  tests 
without  question  or  comment,  while  when  the  evidence 
is  the  other  way,  as  in  the  case  of  Major  Spencer,  they 
are  ready  with  the  most  extraordinary  explanations 
ra,ther  than  admit  a positive  result. 

The  couple  then  emerged  from  the  dark  room — I am 
omitting  unessential  and  wearying  details — and  the 
photographs  were  duly  taken  with  no  exact  record  of 
the  time  of  exposure,  though  Mr.  Price  roughly  placed 
it  at  from  eighteen  to^nineteen  seconds.  The  point  was 
really  of  great,  and  might  have  been,  of  vital  im- 
portance. When  the  plates  were  developed  one  waS 
normal  of  Price  alone,  and  the  other  had  a female  extra 
looking  over  Price’s  shoulder.  This  female  face  has 
the  psychic  arch  and  bears  every  sign  to  my  eye,  and  to 
that  of  every  spiritualist  whom  I have  heard  discuss  it, 
of  being  true  to  type  and  a real  Hope  extra. 

Mr.  Price  complimented  the  medium  upon  his  suc- 
cess, carried  off  the  plates,  and  then  set  himself  to  dic- 
tate an  article  which  was  duly  printed  in  the  “Proceed- 
ings” of  the  S.P.R.  to  show  that  the  whole  business  was 
a swindle,  that  the  plates  had  been  changed,  and  that 
the  extra  had  been  on  a plate  which  Hope  had  foisted 
upon  Price  by  the  device  of  changing  the  carriers  in 
the  dark  room. 

The  points  upon  which  Price  relied  in  his  charge  may 
be  taken  in  their  order.  They  were : 

i.  That  on  the  plate  with  the  extra  the  X-ray 

marks  of  the  Imperial  Company  were  not  present. 

Experiments  were  at  once  undertaken  by  several  in- 
vestigators, including  Dr.  Cushman,  of  Washington, 

[43] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


and  Mr.  Hewat  McKenzie.  They  showed  that  with 
long  exposures,  such  as  Hope  gave,  the  X-ray  marks 
vanish,  so  that  this  test,  as  was  admitted  by  the  Imperial 
Company,  ceases  to  be  valid. 

2.  That  he  made  marks  upon  the  carrier,  which 
were  not  found  upon  the  carrier  actually  used. 

These  marks  seem  to  have  been  mere  pricks,  and 
there  is  no  independent  evidence  as  to  their  existence. 

3.  That  he  saw  Hope  make  a suspicious  gesture  in 
the  dark  room.  * 

This  would  be  more  convincing  if  any  indication 
could  be  given  as  to  what  became  of  the  discarded  car- 
rier. In  cross-examination  Mr.  Price  weakened  on 
the  point. 

4.  That  the  glass  of  which  the  plates  were  made 
and  on  which  the  photos  appeared,  was  different  in 
colour  and  thickness  from  the  glass  of  the  Imperial 
plates  brought  by  Mr.  Price  for  the  experiment. 

This  statement  holds  good.  The  plates  have  been 
examined  and  compared,  and  those  who  desired  to 
guard  the  interests  of  Mr.  Hope  (or  rather  of  truth) 
agreed  that  this  contention  was  right,  and  that  there 
had  actually  been  a substitution  of  plates  at  some  time 
by  somebody.  There  we  are  all  on  common  ground. 
How  then,  and  why,  were  the  plates  changed? 

Many  who  were  convinced  by  experience  of  Hope’s 
powers  and  of  his  essential  honesty,  and  who  were 
aware  of  the  bitter  antagonism  which  exists  against 
him,  as  against  all  psychic  phenomena,  in  certain  circles 
of  conjurers  and  of  sceptical  researchers,  and  of  indis- 
creet expressions  before  the  experiment,  were  of  opin- 

[44] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


on  that  the  whole  transaction  was  an  organised  con- 
spiracy to  discredit  the  medium.  The  packet  of  plates 
lad  been  for  several  weeks  before  the  experiment  in 
he  possession  of  the  officials  of  the  S.P.R.,  and  was 
iccessible  to  clever-fingered  people  who  were  hostile 
o Hope’s  claims,  and  who  had  frequently  averred  that 
he  opening  of  sealed  packets  was  an  easy  process, 
rhere  were  other  arguments  which  I will  not  state  lest 
’ should  seem  to  be  endorsing  them.  Let  me  say,  at 
>nce,  that  I believe  Messrs.  Dingwall,  Price  and  Sey- 
nour  to  be  honourable  gentlemen,  however  much  I 
liffer  from  their  point  of  view,  and  that  I will  not 
idvance  any  hypothesis  which  is  not  consistent  with 
hat  position.* 

At  the  same  time,  I would  point  out  that  all  their 
lifficulties,  which  have  increased  with  fuller  knowledge, 
ire  due  to  their  own  tortuous  and  indirect  way  of  ap- 
>roaching  the  question.  Suppose  that  instead  of  all 
his  juggling  of  X-ray  marks  Mr.  Price  had  simply 
nitialled  his  plate  the  moment  he  took  it  from  the  packet 
is  I and  many  other  experimenters  have  done,  surely  if 
le  had  afterwards  received  an  extra  upon  that  initialled 
>late  the  test  would  have  been  complete,  so  far  as  sub- 
titution  is  concerned.  If  he  had  not  done  so,  I am  sure 
hat  Hope  would  have  given  him  a second  appointment, 
ind  he  could  have  gone  on  until  he  had  either  succeeded 
>r  until  he  had  proved  that  with  an  initialled  plate  Hope 
vas  helpless.  Had  this  been  done  much  trouble  would 
lave  been  saved,  and  the  result  been  equally  clear. 

*1  let  these  words  stand  as  written,  but  further  information, 
vhich  only  came  later  to  my  knowledge,  has,  as  the  text  will 
how,  caused  me  to  take  a less  entirely  charitable  view. — A.C.D. 

[45] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


Or,  again,  when  he  was,  as  he  says,  morally  sure 
that  Hope  had  changed  the  carrier,  suppose  that  instead 
of  complimenting  Hope  upon  results  and  suggesting 
that  the  image  was  that  of  his  mother,  he  had  said, 
“You  will  excuse  me,  Mr.  Hope,  but  I must  really  ex- 
amine you  and  your  dark  room,  for  I think  I can  find  a 
marked  carrier  which  you  have  concealed  while  you 
substituted  your  own.”  A refusal  from  Hope  would 
have  really  been  a confession.  But,  all  through,  a tor- 
tuous course  was  preferred. 

I have  nothing  against  Mr.  Price’s  honour,  but  a very 
great  deal  against  his  methods,  winding  up  with  his 
sixpenny  attack  upon  Hope,  when  the  matter,  as  events 
have  proved,  was  very  far  from  being  settled. 

This  pamphlet  would  certainly  convey  to  the  public 
the  idea  that  Mr.  Price  looked  upon  psychic  photog- 
raphy in  general  as  the  greatest  humbug  in  the  world, 
whereas  since  then  he  has  signed  a document  which  ends 
with  the  words: 

“We  are  convinced  that  the  test  with  Hope  on 
February  24th  does  not  rule  out  the  possibility  that 
Hope  has  produced  supernormal  pictures,  or  that 
he  is  able  to  produce  'extras’  by  other  than  normal 
means.” 

Had  he  been  wise  enough  to  adopt  this  humbler  tone 
in  the  first  instance  we  could  all  discuss  the  question 
now  in  a more  placid  frame  of  mind. 

But  irritability  must  not  make  us  unjust,  and  we  have 
to  face  the  question  how  came  the  plates  to  be  changed  ? 
The  only  honest  answer  is  that  we  do  not  know,  but 
that  the  evidence  taken  on  its  face  value  at  this  stage 
was  against  Hope,  in  spite  of  his  long  record  of  honesty. 

[46] 


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AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


Mr.  Barlow  has  put  forward  the  plea  that  Hope  was 
in  an  abnormal  mental  condition  at  such  times,  and  was 
to  that  extent  irresponsible.  I fear  I cannot  accept  this, 
for  such  substitution  must  be  thought  out  beforehand, 
an  image  must  be  prepared,  and  the  whole  transaction 
is  not  an  act  of  impulse  but  a deliberate  plan. 

There  has,  however,  been  a most  singular  sequel  to 
the  case  which  causes  an  extraordinary  complication, 
and  when  closely  examined  seems  to  me  to  turn  Hope 
from  the  defendant  into  the  accuser.  The  S.P.R.  claims 
that  after  this  experiment  one  of  the  two  marked  plates 
had  been  returned  to  them,  but  in  so  secret  a fashion 
that  it  could  not  be  explained  who  had  brought  it  or  how 
it  had  been  obtained.  This  was  apparently  a point 
against  Hope,  the  charge  inferred,  though  not  stated, 
being  that  he  had  left  this  plate  about,  after  abstracting 
it  from  the  carrier,  and  that  some  enemy  had  recognised 
it  and  brought  it  to  clinch  the  case  against  him.  So 
secret  were  the  proceedings  of  the  Society  that  though 
I am  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  that  body  I was 
refused  leave  to  see  this  mysterious  plate.  Eventually, 
however,  some  of  our  people  did  see  it,  and  then  an 
extraordinary  state  of  things  revealed  itself.  First  of 
all  the  plate  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  original  set 
supplied  by  the  Imperial  Dry  Plate  Company.  Sec- 
ondly, it  was  a virgin  unexposed  plate,  so  that  it  is  im- 
possible that  anyone  at  Hope’s  end  could  have  picked 
it  out  from  any  other  plates,  since  the  marks  were 
invisible.  Third,  and  most  wonderful,  it  actually,  on 
being  developed,  had  an  image  upon  it,  which  may  or 
may  not  have  been  a psychic  extra.  This  plate  was  sent 
on  March  3rd,  a week  after  the  experiment  and  three 

[47] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


(lays  after  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton*  who  knew  nothing 
yet  of  Price's  trap,  had  returned  home  to  Crewe.  It 
was  in  a double  wrapper*  with  a request  upon  the  inside 
cover  that  it  be  developed  The  wrapper  was  formed 
of  Psychic  College  literature,  and  it  bore  the  Netting 
Hi!  postmark. 

Now  consider  the  situation  thus  created  Since  the 
plate  had  not  been  developed  it  is  clear  that  neither  Hope 
nor  anyone  at  the  College  could  possibly  have  known 
that  it  was  a marked  plate*  for  there  was  no  publication 
of  the  alleged  exposure  until  more  than  four  months 
after.  Who  was  there  in  the  whole  world  who  did 
know  that  this  was  a marked  plate  and  one  in  which  the 
S.P.R.  might  be  expected  to  take  a special  interest? 
Clearly  the  experimenters  of  the  S.P.R.  and  their  con- 
fidants— no  one  else.  But  if  the  marked  plate  had  been 
abstracted  by  Hope  in  the  dark  room  and  mixed  up 
there  with  other  platesy  how  could  any  friend  or  emis- 
sary of  the  S.P.R.  have  picked  it  out  as  being  the  plate 
that  was  marked  ? It  could  not  have  been  done.  There- 
fore the  conclusion  seems  to  be  irresistible  that  this 
plate  was  abstracted  from  the  packet  before  the  experi- 
ment by  someone  who  knew  exactly  what  it  was.  If 
this  be  so*  Hope  is  the  victim  of  a conspiracy  and  he  is 
a much  ill-used  man.  I see  no  possible  alternative  to 
this  conclusion. 

Let  us  see  if  we  can  bmld  up  any  sort  of  theory 
which  would  cover  a!  the  known  facts.  Any  such 
theory  is  bound  to  be  improbable*  btrt  the  improbable 
is  better  than  the  impossible*  and  it  is  quite  impossible 
that  Hope  could  have  known  that  a plate  was  secretly 
marked  when  it  had  not  been  exposed  or  developed. 

[48] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 

We  have  to  remember  that  the  knot  of  conspirators 
(some  consciously  so,  and  some  not)  are  in  close  touch 
with  a group  of  conjurers.  These  gentlemen  have  an- 
nounced that  there  is  no  packet  which  cannot  be  opened 
and  no  seal  which  cannot  be  tampered  with  undetected. 
For  twenty-four  days  after  Mr.  Price  takes  his  packet 
of  marked  plates  to  the  headquarters  of  the  S.P.R.  it 
was  locked  up  not  in  a safe  but  in  an  ordinary  drawer, 
which  may  or  may  not  have  been  locked,  but  could  pre- 
sumably be  easily  opened.  My  belief  is  that  during  that 
long  period  the  packet  was  actually  opened  and  the  top 
plates  taken  out.  Upon  one  of  these  top  plates  a faked 
photograph  was  thrown  from  one  of  those  small  pro- 
jectors whiqh  produce  just  such  an  effect  as  is  shown 
on  the  returned  plate.  The  idea  may  have  been  that 
Hope  would  claim  this  effect  as  his  own  and  that  he 
would  then  be  confounded  by  the  announcement  that 
it  was  there  all  the  time.  That  was  the  first  stage.  The 
second  stage  was  that  either  the  original  conspirator 
relented  or  someone  else  who  was  in  his  confidence 
thought  it  was  too  bad,  so  the  packet  was  again  tam- 
pered with,  the  marked  and  faked  plate  taken  out  and 
a plain  one  substituted.  The  packet  was  then  taken  to 
Hope  as  described.  Mr.  Hope  then  got  a perfectly 
honest  psychic  effect  upon  the  unmarked  plate.  Mean- 
while the  abstracter,  whoever  he  may  have  been,  had 
the  original  faked  plate  in  his  possession,  and  out  of  a 
spirit  of  pure  mischief — for  I can  imagine  no  other 
reason — he  wrapped  it  in  a sheet  of  the  College  syllabus, 
which  can  easily  be  obtained,  and  returned  it  to  the 
S.P.R.,  to  whom  it  originally  belonged.  Wherever  it 
came  from  it  is  clear  that  it  did  not  come  from  the 

[49] 


THE  CASE  TOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


College,  for  when  a man  does  a thing  secretly  and 
anonymously  he  does  not  enclose  literature  which  will 
lead  to  his  detection. 

It  is  possible  that  this  thing  may  originally  have  been 
conceived  as  a sort  of  practical  joke  upon  Hope  and 
upon  spiritualists  generally,  but  that  some  who  were 
not  in  the  joke  have  pushed  the  matter  further  than  was 
originally  intended.  Whom  can  we  blame?  I am  in 
the  position  of  never  having  personally  met  any  of  the 
three  protagonists.  Price,  Dingwall  or  Seymour,  so  that 
my  view  of  them  is  impartial.  Mr.  Price  is  popular 
among  the  spiritualists  who  know  him,  and  all  agree 
that  he  would  be  unlikely  to  lend  himself  to  any  decep- 
tion. Mr.  Dingwall  was  possessed  by  an  extreme 
prejudice  against  Mr.  Hope,  and  yet  I cannot  conceive 
him  as  gratifying  that  prejudice  by  such  a trick.  He 
cannot,  however,  be  acquitted  of  having  aided  and 
abetted  in  issuing  the  libellous  pamphlet  against  Hope 
before  all  the  facts  were  known,  and  before  Hope’s 
friends  could  examine  any  of  them.  It  was  an  un- 
worthy thing  to  do,  and  Messrs.  Price  and  Dingwall 
must  share  the  responsibility.  It  is  a curious  fact  which 
should  be  recorded  that,  although  the  experiment  was 
on  February  24th,  and  though  the  report  of  the  alleged 
exposure  was  not  issued  till  the  end  of  May,  we  find 
Mr.  Dingwall  applying  for  a sitting  with  Hope  early 
in  May,  and  writing,  when  Hope  refused  to  give  him 
one : “As  I understand  from  your  letters  that  you  still 
refuse  to  have  sittings  with  the  only  scientific  body  in 
Great  Britain  investigating  this  subject,  I shall  be 
obliged  in  my  coming  report  on  psychic  photography 
to  publish  certain  facts  which  mav  not  be  of  advantage 

[50] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


to  yourself.”  That  letter  was  on  May  2nd.  Appar- 
ently, therefore,  the  publication  of  the  “exposure”  de- 
pended upon  whether  Mr.  Dingwall  was  piqued  or  was 
humoured.  If  he  were  sure  that  the  exposure  was  a 
genuine  one  this  is  a very  singular  attitude  to  assume. 

There  remains  Mr.  James  Seymour,  the  amateur 
conjurer,  who  has  been  concerned  in  several  so-called 
exposures.  It  would  be  unjust  to  assert  that  it  was  he 
who  carried  out  this  deception,  for  when  a packet  is 
left  for  twenty- four  days  in  a drawer  many  people  may 
have  had  access  to  it,  and  none  of  the  three  experi- 
menters may  have  known  the  facts.  This,  I think,  is 
very  probable.  At  the  same  time,  as  Mr.  Seymour  has 
been  very  searching  in  his  inquiries  about  mediums,  he 
will  not  take  it  amiss  if  I ask  him  what  he  meant  when 
in  his  evidence  (“Cold  Light,”  etc.,  p.  7)  he  says: 
“They”  (i.e.,  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton)  “were  thor- 
oughly taken  in  by  the  packet  and  were  not  suspicious 
of  it.”  How  could  they  possibly  be  suspicious  of  a 
packet  which  had  never  been  opened?  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  speaker  knew  that  the  packet  had  been 
tampered  with,  it  would  be  a most  natural  remark  to 
make.  The  words  may  be  innocent,  but  they  demand  a 
clear  explanation,  and  so  does  the  fact  that  an  extra 
was  found  upon  a marked  plate  which  obviously  had 
never  been  in  Hope’s  dark  room  at  all. 

So  secretive  and  tortuous  have  been  the  methods 
of  the  agents  of  the  S.P.R  that  each  fresh  piece  of 
evidence  has  to  be  wrung  from  them,  and  they  seem 
to  have  no  conception  of  the  fact  that  a man  who  is 
accused  has  a right  to  know  all  the  facts  concerning  the 
accusation.  Even  now,  nine  months  after  the  event, 

[5i] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

constant  pressure  has  to  be  put  upon  them  in  order  to 
get  at  the  truth.  Only  at  this  last  moment  has  a new 
and  strange  fact  been  admitted.  It  is  that  when  the 
mysterious  marked  plate  was  returned  it  was  not  alone, 
but  that  three  other  plates,  not  belonging  to  the  marked 
series,  were  with  it,  each  of  them  adorned  with  psychic 
photographs.  These  photographs  in  no  way  resembled 
the  results  of  Hope  or  of  Mrs.  Deane,  nor  were  they 
like  the  one  upon  the  marked  plate.  I should  be  inter- 
ested to  know  whether  Mr.  Marriott  was  ever  in  the 
counsels  of  the  conspirators,  for  there  is  something  in 
this  incident  which  rather  recalls  that  gentlemen’s  pow- 
ers and  also  his  somewhat  impish  sense  of  humour. 

Even  now — I write  nearly  nine  months  after  the 
original  investigation — we  have  no  assurance  that  this 
secret  of  the  S.P.R.  has  been  fully  divulged  or  that  they 
have  been  frank  with  the  public.  It  is  possible  that 
they  have  received  other  anonymous  communications 
which  bear  upon  the  case.  The  first  one  was  within  a 
week  of  the  investigation,  and  if  divulged  at  the  time 
it  might  have  been  possible  to  find  the  source.  After 
such  a lapse  of  time  it  is  far  more  difficult.  As  I have 
shown,  these  new  facts  place  the  Society  in  a very  in- 
vidious position  and  that  may  be  the  cause  of  their 
hesitations  and  concealments,  but  they  have  to  remem- 
ber that  they  have  made  a wanton  attack  upon  a man’s 
honour,  and  that  their  own  amour  propre  is  a small 
thing  compared  to  the  admission  of  the  injustice  they 
have  done.  They  should  now  come  forward  honestly, 
admit  the  blunders  they  have  committed,  apologise  to 
Hope,  and  remove  any  slur  which  they  have  cast 
upon  one  of  the  most  important  and  consistent  psychic 

[52] 


AN  EXAMINATION  OF  MR.  HOPE 


manifestations  ever  known  in  the  history  of  the  move- 
ment. In  all  attempted  explanations  let  them  bear  in 
mind  the  central  fact  that  no  one  but  themselves  and 
their  associates  knew  that  there  was  a marked  plate  in 
existence  until  several  months  after  the  experiment  and 
after  one  had  been  returned  to  them. 

Among  those  who  examined  the  evidence  at  that 
time  available  was  Dr.  Allerton  Cushman,  for  whose 
independence  of  mind  and  strong  common  sense  I have 
a great  respect.  Having  signed  the  document  in  which 
he  admitted  that  there  had  been  substitution  of  plates, 
he  added  the  following  impressive  note: 

“My  signature  appended  to  the  above  statement 
sets  forth  that  investigation  of  all  the  facts  available 
up  to  date  shows  that  the  plate  containing  the  psychic 
extra  in  the  Price  test  sitting  with  Hope  did  not 
match  up  with  the  other  plates  marked  by  the  Im- 
perial Dry  Plate  Company.  The  only  possible  infer- 
ence is  that  the  plate  in  question  was  substituted  by 
someone  at  some  time  either  deliberately  or  acci- 
dentally. I do  not  commit  myself  as  to  the  author- 
ship of  the  substitution.  After  careful  experimenta- 
tion I do  not  consider  the  system  of  X-ray  marking 
adopted  by  Mr.  Price  to  be  infallible,  but  quite  the 
reverse,  as  the  markings  quite  disappear  on  long  ex- 
posures and  over-development.  I am  also  unim- 
pressed and  unconvinced  by  Mr.  Price’s  method  of 
marking  the  plate-holder.  I have  had  in  all  five 
sittings  with  Hope  and  four  with  Mrs.  Deane.  Of 
these  nine  sittings,  seven  were  conducted  under  test 
conditions  in  which  Dr.  H.  Carrington  and  other  wit- 
nesses participated.  I have  obtained  psychic  extras 
from  both  mediums  on  plates  marked  by  X-ray  by 
the  Imperial  Dry  Plate  Company,  and  boxed  and 
sealed  by  them,  and  also  on  plates  purchased  by  Dr. 

[53] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


Carrington  just  previous  to  one  of  the  Hope  sittings, 
all  of  which  were  marked  by  ns  with  every  precau- 
tion. I am  convinced  that  there  was  no  substitution 
possible  in  at  least  five  ©f  the  seven  test  sittings.  I 
consider  that  the  mediums  possess  genuine  psychic 
power,  and  are  capable  ©f  obtaining  marvellous, 
genuine  results.  . . . The  more  I investigate  the 
subject  the  more  convinced  I am  that  the  marvellous 
evidential  case  of  spirit  photography  obtained  by  me 
through  Mis.  Deane  in  July,  1921,  was  genuine  and 
true. 

*' Yours  faithfully, 
“Auhttok  F.  Cushman.” 


CHAPTER  V 


FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  CONSIDERED 

It  might  well  be  urged,  “Why  should  Hope  go  into  the 
dark  room  at  all?  Why  should  he  not  allow  the  sitter 
to  charge  his  carrier  by  himself  and  so  remove  all  possi- 
bility of  transposition  ?”  It  is  natural  that  Hope  should 
show  the  stranger  where  the  various  conveniences  of 
the  dark  room  are,  but  apart  from  this  there  is  the  rea- 
son that  Hope  in  the  course  of  his  career  has  had  all 
sorts  of  tricks  played  upon  him  by  dishonest  investi- 
gators, and  that  he  has  to  protect  himself,  so  far  as  he 
can,  against  doctored  plates  or  plates  with  extras  already 
prepared  which  will  be  ascribed  to  him  and  made  the 
ground  for  charges.  I have  heard  him  tell  such  in- 
stances. When  he  knows  his  sitter  he  has  no  objection 
at  all  to  leaving  him  alone  in  the  dark  room. 

In  1919  the  Society  which  I have  already  referred  to 
as  the  S.S.S.P.  presented  Hope  with  a new  camera.  Mr. 
Barlow,  Mr.  Pearse  and  Mr.  Walker — all  experienced 
photographers — were  the  three  delegates  who  conveyed 
it  to  Crewe.  On  this  occasion  photographs  were  taken 
with  the  new  carriers  and  camera,  Mr.  Barlow  loading 
the  carrier  with  his  own  plate  alone  in  the  dark  room. 
I*n  developing,  all  three  delegates  went  into  the  dark 
room,  but  Hope  did  not  accompany  them.  Three  out 
of  four  slides  showed  no  supernormal  result,  but  the 
iorth  showed  three  faces,  one  clearly  recognised. 

[551 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

“We  were  carefully  watching  Mr.  Hope  all  the  time  and 
are  absolutely  sure  that  there  was  no  trickery.’ * The 
document,  which  contains  a detailed  account  of  these 
facts,  is  signed  by  all  three  observers.  Could  any  case 
be  more  satisfactory  and  more  final? 

I have  said  that  professional  photographers  were 
among  the  sitters.  I would  instance  as  a good  example 
Mr.  A.  R.  Gibson,  of  Nottingham,  who  testifies  that 
he  took  every  possible  precaution  against  deceit,  and 
that  none  the  less  he  received  an  excellent  likeness  of  his 
dead  son  which  does  not  correspond  to  any  existing 
photograph  and  is  recognised  by  all  who  knew  the  lad. 

There  is  one  final  case  to  which  I would  particularly 
desire  to  draw  attention  because  it  is  exactly  parallel  to 
that  of  Mr.  Price,  but  had  a diametrically  opposite  re- 
sult. The  inquirer,  too,  has  the  advantage  of  being 
absolutely  impartial,  which  cannot  be  said  of  the  two 
conjurers  nor  of  Mr.  Dingwall,  who  was  behind  them 
— and  even  with  every  intention  to  be  honest,  a strong 
bias  can  distort  the  results.  The  case  to  which  I refer 
is  that  of  Mrs.  St.  Clair  Stobart,  of  7,  Turners  Wood, 
Hampstead  Garden  Suburb,  who  sat  to  Mr.  Hope  in 
March,  1921.  Before  the  sitting  Mrs.  Stobart’s  plates 
were  marked  with  a secret  mark,  which  she  herself  did 
not  know,  by  the  Kodak  Company.  The  result  is  told 
in  full  in  Psychic  Science  for  October  of  this  year. 
Briefly,  after  every  conceivable  precaution  by  Mrs.  Sto- 
bart and  her  husband,  two  extras  were  got  in  four  at- 
tempts, one  a head  only  and  the  other  a full-length 
figure  of  a woman,  clothed  in  the  usual  filmy  drapery. 
“Mr.  Hope  never  handled  the  plates  at  all.”  Mrs.  Sto- 
bart concludes:  “I  took  the  negatives  to  the  Kodak 

[56] 


FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  CONSIDERED 

Company — to  the  manager  and  chief  assistant.  ‘Are 
these  the  plates  you  marked  ? Can  you  see  the  marks  ?’ 
I asked.  ‘Oh  yes/  they  replied.  ‘Look,  here  they  are — 
a tiny  circle  enclosing  a cross.’  And  for  the  first  time  I 
saw  the  marks  which  they  had  put.  The  Kodak  Com- 
pany allow  me  to  say  that  their  affirmation  as  to  this 
can  be  used  freely.” 

Now  surely  this  is  very  important.  There  seems  no 
loophole  for  error,  and  it  entirely  reverses  the  results 
of  the  S.P.R.  Why  should  more  credit  be  given  to  one 
than  the  other?  Of  the  two,  Mrs.  Stobart’s  is  undoubt- 
edly the  more  scientific,  for  we  have  no  story  of  plates 
being  left  about  for  twenty- four  days  before  an  experi- 
ment, and,  as  I have  pointed  out,  there  is  no  possible 
bias.  Taken  with  all  the  other  examples  which  I have 
given,  and  with  those  given  later  by  Mr.  Barlow,  I 
claim  that  no  reasonable  man  can  doubt  that  Hope’s 
hands  are  clean.  It  is  the  S.P.R.  clique  with  their  tor- 
tuous methods,  and  with  their  mystery  plate  unex- 
plained, who  can  most  reasonably  be  accused  of  a want 
of  frank,  straightforward  dealing.  It  is  sad  to  think 
that  a society  which  has  done  good  work  in  the  past, 
and  which  has  been  made  famous  by  the  labours  of 
great  spiritualists  like  Myers  and  Hodgson,  Barrett  and 
Crookes,  should  be  mixed  up  at  all  with  so  ugly  a busi- 
ness handled  in  so  questionable  a way. 

Before  bringing  to  an  end  this  short  sketch  of  the 
work  of  the  Crewe  Circle,  I would  beg  the  reader  to 
consider  the  positive  cases  which  I have  laid  before 
him  and  to  remember  that  in  order  to  establish  the  in- 
tervention of  external,  intelligent  forces — which  is  our 
SK)le  and  only  aim — we  have  only  to  make  one  case  good. 

[57] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

One  positive  case  outweighs  all  the  negative  ones  which 
the  industry  of  the  most  energetic  “exposer”  could  col- 
lect. Our  enemies  take  the  perverse  course  of  dwelling 
entirely  upon  negative  results,  a line  of  reasoning  which 
would  have  killed  any  science  in  the  wrorld.  They  know, 
as  a matter  of  fact,  very  little  about  the  subject,  for 
starting,  as  they  do,  with  the  presumption  that  it  is  a 
palpable  fraud,  they  do  not  devote  to  it  the  time  and 
the  close  study  which  it  calls  for. 

There  is  only  one  body  in  this  country  which  can 
claim  any  authority,  and  that  is  the  S.S.S.P.,  or  Society 
for  the  Study  of  Supernormal  Pictures,  of  which  Dr. 
Abraham  Wallace  is  President,  while  I share  with  Mr. 
Mitchell  and  Mr.  Blackwell  the  honour  of  being  vice- 
president.  We  number  among  our  members  Miss 
Scatcherd,  whose  experience  is  probably  unique,  Mr. 
Coates,  who  has  written  two  excellent  books  upon  the 
subject,  Colonel  Baddeley,  Major  Spencer,  whose  ex- 
periments have  extended  over  many  years,  Colonel 
Johnson,  a pioneer  investigator,  professional  and  ex- 
pert photographers,  and  others  of  all  shades  of  opinions, 
save  that  all,  so  far  as  I know,  are  convinced  by  actual 
experience  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomenon.  Of  its 
methods  and  curious,  almost  inconceivable  and  most 
freakish  manifestations  we  have  collected  a mass  of 
material  and  have  even  cleared  a few  permanent  path- 
ways among  the  jungle. 

It  is  to  this  society,  and  not  to  the  S.P.R.  as  at  present 
conducted,  that  the  world  may  look  for  accurate  infor- 
mation upon  this  subject.  It  wTould  not  be  reasonable 
for  me  to  go  at  any  length  here  into  the  results  obtained. 
I would  only  say  that  so  far  as  my  own  conclusions  go, 

[58] 


FURTHER  DIFFICULTIES  CONSIDERED 


basing  my  studies  upon  the  photographers  of  the  past 
as  well  as  the  present,  I think  that  the  evidence  is  strong 
that  there  is  on  the  other  side  an  intelligent  control  for 
each  photographic  medium,  whose  powers  are  great 
but  by  no  means  unlimited  and  who  endeavours  to  give 
us  convincing  results  each  in  his  own  characteristic 
way.  These  results  are  sometimes  obtained  by  actual 
materialisations,  sometimes  by  precipitations  of  pictures 
apart  from  exposure,  sometimes,  as  I believe,  by  the 
superposition  of  screens  which  have  the  psychic  face 
already  upon  them,  and  which  give  marks  as  of  a double 
exposure.  Among  the  powers  of  the  control  is  to  build 
up  a simulacrum  which  may  be  the  image  of  someone 
who  is  still  alive,  or  he  may  produce  upon  the  plate  fac- 
similes of  pictures  and  portraits  which  do  at  present 
exist,  but  which  are  entirely  beyond  the  normal  reach 
of  the  medium.  All  these  and  other  equally  strange 
points  I could  illustrate  by  many  examples,  but  their 
mere  recital  will  show  how  many  snares  lie  before  the 
explorer,  and  how  many  things  might  seem  to  be  fraud- 
ulent when  they  are  really  the  doing  not  of  the  medium 
but  of  the  control. 

Any  further  expansion  of  this  fascinating  subject 
would  be  out  of  place  on  my  part,  since  I am  by  no 
means  one  of  the  authorities,  and  can  only  claim  that 
I study  and  assimilate  the  results  of  others,  to  which, 
of  course,  I add  my  own  personal  experience.  I have, 
however,  asked  Mr.  Barlow,  the  Honorary  Secretary 
of  this  Society,  whose  experience  is  so  extensive  as  to 
be  almost  unrivalled,  to  add  a short  essay  upon  the  sub- 
ject, with  an  account  of  some  of  the  cases  which  bear 
upon  the  matter. 


[59] 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  ATTACK  ON  MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 

I took  up  my  pen  for  the  purpose  of  considering  the 
case  of  the  Crewe  Circle  and  urging  the  folly  of  dis- 
carding the  work  of  seventeen  years  on  the  score  of  a 
single  case.  I cannot,  however,  end  my  task  without 
saying  a few  words  as  to  the  attack  upon  Mrs.  Deane 
and  Mr.  Vearncombe,  two  other  photographic  medi- 
ums. This  attack  hardly  deserves  attention  as  it  was 
anonymous,  but  it  was  brought  out  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Magic  Circle,  a society  of  conjurers  who  have 
been  interesting  themselves  in  matters  psychic.  As 
the  two  attacks  were  issued  almost  simultaneously  they 
seem  to  have  had  some  common  inspiration,  and  to 
have  formed  a general  assault  upon  the  whole  position 
of  psychic  photography.  The  same  individual,  Mr. 
Seymour,  the  amateur  conjurer,  actually  took  part,  I 
understand,  in  both  transactions. 

Mrs.  Deane,  the  person  attacked,  is  a somewhat  pa- 
thetic and  forlorn  figure  among  all  these  clever  trick- 
sters. She  is  a little,  elderly  charwoman,  a humble 
white  mouse  of  a person,  with  her  sad  face,  her  frayed 
gloves,  and  her  little  handbag  which  excites  the  worst 
suspicions  in  the  minds  of  her  critics.  Her  powers 
were  discovered  in  the  first  instance  quite  by  chance. 
When  she  first  pursued  the  subject  her  circumstances 
were  such  that  her  only  dark  room  was  under  the 

[60] 


MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 


kitchen  table  with  clothes  pinned  round  it.  None  the 
less,  she  produced  some  remarkable  pictures  under  these 
conditions,  one  of  which  fell  into  my  hands,  and  I at 
once  concluded  that  she  had  real  powers.  The  portrait 
was  of  a young  man  in  life,  with  a female  spirit  face 
behind  him.  This  might  well  have  been  faked.  Some- 
thing seemed  to  be  emerging  from  the  young  man's 
head,  however,  and  on  observing  this  object  with  a lens 
I distinguished  that  it  was  a small  but  correct  repre- 
sentation of  the  Assyrian  fish-god,  Dagon,  wearing  the 
peculiar  hat  with  which  that  deity  is  always  associated. 
This  was  so  entirely  the  kind  of  freakish  result  which  I 
expect  from  spirit  photography,  and  was  so  removed 
from  the  normal  powers  of  a charwoman,  that  I pro- 
visionally accepted  her  in  my  mind  as  a true  medium, 
a position  from  which  I have  never  been  compelled  to 
budge.  I still  retain  this  photograph,  but  the  little  head 
is  too  small  for  satisfactory  reproduction. 

Mrs.  Deane  (or  Mrs.  Deane’s  control)  has  one  em- 
barrassing habit  which  I believe  to  be  unnecessary,  and 
which  makes  it  very  difficult  to  convince  the  sceptic,  or, 
'indeed,  to  prevent  him  from  writing  her  down  as  an 
obvious  fraud.  Far  from  insisting  that  you  bring  your 
own  plates,  as  Hope  does,  she  likes  them  to  be  sent  to 
her  in  advance,  and  she  does  what  she  calls  “magne- 
tising” them,  by  keeping  them  near  her  for  some  days. 
This  is  so  suspicious  that  it  can  hardly  be  defended,  but 
here,  again,  there  is  an  element  of  fanatical  obedience. 
My  own  personal  belief  is  that  her  results  are  perfectly 
honest,  that  they  are  actually  formed  in  the  shape  of 
psychographs  during  the  days  before  the  sitting,  and 
that  if  her  plates  were  examined  before  they  were  ex- 

[61] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

posed  to  light,  the  pictures  would  be  found  already  on 
them.  This,  of  course,  would  very  naturally  be  taken 
as  clear  proof  of  fraud  by  the  superficial  investigator, 
ignorant  of  the  strange  possibilities  of  psychic  photog- 
raphy, but  I believe  myself  that  the  psychic  effect  is  a 
perfectly  genuine  one,  but  that  the  extra  will  very  prob- 
ably bear  no  relevancy  to  the  sitter.  I am  speaking  now 
of  her  general  routine,  for  how  can  I guarantee  every 
particular  case  or  judge  what  a medium  may  do  when 
dealing  with  so  evanescent  and  elusive  a thing  as  psychic 
power?  When  they  have  it  they  use  it — when  it  fails 
them  the  human  element  may  come  in. 

I have  had  one  sitting  with  Mrs.  Deane  in  which  six 
plates  were  exposed.  In  four  of  them  there  were  ab- 
normal results.  One  of  these  was  a female  face  smil- 
ing from  an  ectoplasmic  cloud.  What  does  Mrs.  Deane 
know  of  ectoplasmic  clouds  ? One  such  is  visible  in  the 
specimen  of  her  work  which  is  shown  in  Figure  30. 
Exactly  similar  are  some  of  the  clouds  which  appear  in 
Hope’s  work.  Such  appearances  do  not  aid  deception. 
Why,  then,  should  they  appear  if  it  is  not  that  it  is 
part  of  a psychic  process  ? 

Mrs.  Deane  gave  me  the  choice  of  two  packets  of 
plates  upon  this  occasion,  and  I admit  that  the  effects 
may  very  well  have  been  on  the  plates  before  the  ex- 
posure. None  the  less,  they  were  probably  quite  genu- 
ine as  supernormal  pictures.  Such  a statement  may 
raise  a smile  from  Mr.  MacCabe  or  from  Mr.  Pater- 
noster in  Truth,  but  I have  the  advantage  over  them 
in  the  fact  that  I have  had  practical  experience  of  the 
matter  at  issue. 

But  I am  bound  to  give  my  reasons  for  such  a state- 

[62] 


“.crw  y 

fD  O O 

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o 3*3  H- 

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o'  * P 
CL  ^ *3 

o — . 5 hi  3* 
o w a ^ -1 

a:  3-3:0 

tn  O 

CD  *3.  3 r-f. 

1^0^  5'S 
>0;3S  3 
S o _ M 
* *°B 


O O 


O P 

Pfi3 

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W (T) 


o w 3 

§ £S 

3-  o s* 

P -«  5 

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vj 


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CLO  <?  3* 
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| 


MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 

ment,  or  I might  well  be  branded  as  credulous.  My  rea- 
sons are  that  I am  convinced  that  this  magnetising  proc- 
ess is  perfectly  unnecessary  and  Mrs.  Deane,  within  my 
knowledge,  obtains  her  best  results  when  there  has  been 
no  possibility  of  knowing  who  her  sitter  will  be.  The 
very  finest  result  which  I know  of  in  psychic  photog- 
raphy was  that  obtained  by  Dr.  Cushman  with  Mrs. 
Deane.  Dr.  Cushman,  a distinguished  scientific  man 
of  America,  had  suffered  the  loss  of  his  daughter  Agnes 
some  months  before.  He  went  to  the  Psychic  College 
without  an  appointment  or  an  introduction.  When  he 
arrived  he  found  Mrs.  Deane  in  the  act  of  leaving.  He 
persuaded  her  to  give  a sitting,  and  then  and  there  he 
obtained  a photograph  of  his  “dead”  daughter  which  is, 
he  declares,  unlike  any  existing  one,  and  is  more  vital 
and  characteristic  than  any  taken  in  life.  When  I was 
in  the  States  I showed  this  picture  on  the  screen  as  in 
Figure  14,  and  there  was  abundant  testimony  from 
those  who  knew  Agnes  that  it  was  a life-like  picture. 

I would  refer  this  case  to  the  anonymous  writers  of 
the  Magic  Circle,  who  has  done  all  they  could  to  worry 
this  poor  woman  and  to  destroy  her  powers,  and  I would 
ask  them  how  that  little  bag  of  tricks  which  exists  only 
in  their  own  imagination  could  have  affected  such  a re- 
sult as  that.  It  will  be  noted  in  the  already  quoted  opin- 
ion of  Dr.  Cushman  that  since  this  scandal  Mrs.  Deane 
has  been  severely  tested  by  him  and  others,  and  that  they 
have  been  able  under  the  Doctor’s  own  conditions  to 
get  psychic  results. 

Another  excellent  case  of  Mrs.  Deane’s  power  is  that 
which  forms  the  subject  of  Figure  30.  The  extra  in  the 
ectoplasmic  cloud  is  Mr.  Barlow,  senior,  the  father  of 

[63] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


the  Secretary  of  the  S.S.S.P.  Beside  him  is  a picture 
of  how  he  looked  twelve  years  before  his  death.  No 
one  can  deny  that  it  is  the  same  man  with  the  years 
added  on.  Mrs.  Deane  never  knew  Mr.  Barlow’s  father 
in  life.  How,  then,  was  this  result  obtained?  These 
are  the  cases  which  the  Magic  Circle  report  avoids, 
while  it  talks  much  of  any  negative  results  which  it  can 
collect  or  imagine.  I hope  that  this  short  account  may 
do  something  towards  helping  a woman  whom  I be- 
lieve to  be  a true  psychic,  and  who  has  suffered  severely 
for  the  faith  that  is  in  her,  having  actually,  I under- 
stand, endured  the  excommunication  of  her  church  be- 
cause she  has  used  the  powers  which  God  has  given 
her.  I have  a recollection  that  Joan  of  Arc  endured 
the  same  fate  for  the  reason  “le  plus  il  change , le  plus 
il  reste  le  meme” 

It  only  remains  for  me  now,  before  giving  place  to 
others,  to  say  a word  about  Mr.  Vearncombe,  the 
psychic  photographer  of  Bridgwater.  Mr.  Vearncombe 
was  a normal,  professional  photographer,  but  he  found, 
as  Mumler  did,  that  inexplicable  extras  intruded  upon 
and  Spoilt  both  his  plates  and  his  business.  He  then 
began  to  study  this  new  power,  which  he  seemed  to  pos- 
sess, and  to  develop  it  for  commercial  use.  Mrs.  Hum- 
phreys, a member  of  the  S.S.S.P.  and  a student  of 
psychic  affairs,  lived  in  the  same  town  and  submitted 
him  to  certain  tests  which  convinced  her  and  others  of 
his  bona  fides,  though  I cannot  repeat  too  often  that  no 
blank  cheque  of  honesty  can  ever  be  given  to  any  man. 

My  own  experience  of  Mr.  Vearncombe  and  my 
knowledge  of  his  work  are  far  less  than  in  the  cases  of 
Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Deane,  so  that  I can  only  say  that 

[64] 


MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 


I believe  he  produces  genuine  results,  whereas  in  the 
other  two  cases  I can  say  that  I know  they  produce  genu- 
ine results. 

I have  had  two  experiments  with  Vearncombe,  but 
did  not  impose  any  test  conditions  in  either  case.  I 
simply  sent  a closed  envelope  containing  a letter  and 
asked  him  to  photograph  it  in  the  hope  that  some  extra 
might  appear  which  I could  associate  with  the  sender 
of  the  letter.  In  both  cases  a large  number,  six  or 
seven,  well-marked  faces  developed  round  the  letter, 
but  none  which  bore  any  message  to  me.  Others,  how- 
ever, have  been  more  fortunate  in  their  experience  and 
have  assured  me  that  they  have  received  true  pictures 
of  the  dead  in  that  fashion.  There  is  no  ectoplasmic 
cloud  or  psychic  arch,  but  the  faces  are  as  clear-cut  as 
if  they  were  stamped  with  a die. 

I am  in  some  degree  responsible  for  Vearncombe’s 
troubles,  as  I mentioned  his  name  as  being  one  who 
might  repay  investigation  upon  the  occasion  when  I 
gave  evidence  before  a committee  *of  these  conjuring 
gentlemen.  They  seem  to  have  made  up  a sealed  packet 
to  Mr.  Vearncombe  with  instructions  to  get  what  he 
could.  Upon  its  return  they  declared  that  the  packet, 
which  had  furnished  a psychic  result,  had  been  tampered 
with.  No  independent  proof  whatever  was  offered  in 
support  of  this  assertion,  and  Mr.  Fred  Barlow,  who 
had  obtained  results  from  Mr.  Vearncombe,  where  he 
was  sure  that  the  packets  had  not  been  tampered  with, 
was  sufficiently  interested  to  hunt  up  the  name  of  the 
sender  and  some  details  of  the  case  from  the  Veam- 
combe  end,  rather  than  from  that  of  the  “exposers.” 
Fortunately  Vearncombe  had  preserved  the  letters,  and 

[65] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

it  was  then  found  that  the  sender,  when  the  packet  and 
the  psychic  result  had  been  returned,  had  at  once  written 
to  Veamcombe  to  acknowledge  receipt,  adding  the  two 
statements : 

(1)  That  one  of  the  faces  strongly  recalled  “an 
old  true  friend  who  had  not  been  heard  of  for  many 
years,”  and 

(2)  That  the  packet  had  been  returned  intact. 

Thus  the  Magic  Circle  had  clearly  fallen  into  the  pit 
that  it  had  digged,  and  its  agent  is  convicted  either  of 
being  a senseless  liar  without  any  cause,  or  else  of  hav- 
ing completely  endorsed  the  result  which  the  Circle 
afterwards  pretended  was  a failure.  It  was  one  of 
those  numerous  instances  when  it  is  not  the  medium 
but  the  investigators  who  should  really  be  exposed.  My 
experience  is  that  this  is  the  case  far  more  frequently 
than  the  public  can  realise,  and  that  it  is  amazing  how 
men  of  honour  can  turn  and  twist  the  facts  when  they 
deal  with  this  subject.  A well-known  “exposer”  as- 
sured a friend  of  mine  that  he  would  think  nothing  of 
putting  muslin  in  a medium’s  pocket  at  a seance,  if  he 
was  sure  that  he  could  thereby  secure  a conviction. 

I have  seen  a letter  from  Mr.  Marriott,  who  is  also 
busy  in  showing  up  “frauds,”  in  which,  writing  to  Mr. 
Hope,  he  offered  to  teach  him  to  make  more  artistic 
spirit-photographs,  charging  thirty  guineas  if  the  les- 
sons were  in  London  and  forty  if  at  Crewe.  I am  quite 
prepared  to  anticipate  Mr.  Marriott’s  explanation  that 
this  was  a trap,  but  it  is  an  example  of  the  tortuous, 
deceptive  methods  against  which  our  mediums  have  to 
contend. 


[66] 


MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 


I understand  that  Mr.  Veamcombe  is  so  disgusted 
with  the  whole  episode  that  he  declares  he  will  demon- 
strate his  powers  no  longer,  save  to  private  friends. 
We  can  but  hope  that  he  will  not  allow  ignorant  or  dis- 
honest anonymous  criticism  to  influence  him  to  this 
extent.  If  all  of  us  who  endure  annoyance,  and  even 
insult,  were  to  desert  the  spiritualist  cause  in  order  to 
save  our  private  feelings,  we  could  hardly  expect  the 
truth  to  prevail. 

Let  me  conclude  by  saying  that  I speak  from  a far 
larger  experience  than  the  representatives  of  the  S.P.R. 
or  of  the  Magic  Circle,  and  that,  leaving  out  Mr.  Vearn- 
combe,  who  needs  no  defence  in  the  face  of  the  admis- 
sion quoted  above,  I have  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  true 
psychic  powers  of  Mrs.  Deane  and  of  Mr.  Hope,  though 
I cannot  pronounce  upon  every  single  case  at  which  I 
was  not  present  and  when  I have  had  no  opportunity  of 
examining  the  complete  evidence.  I fear  that  the  most 
permanent  result  of  this  episode  will  be  that  the  spir- 
itualists will  very  reasonably  refuse  the  present  regime 
of  the  Research  Society  all  access  to  their  mediums, 
since  experience  has  shown  that  they  may,  without  a 
chance  of  self-defence,  be  attacked  in  consequence  in  a 
cheap,  popular  pamphlet  before  even  the  case  has  been 
examined  by  any  impartial  authority. 

POSTSCRIPT 

At  the  last  moment  before  this  booklet  goes  to  press, 
I am  able  to  insert  the  fact  that  Hope’s  complete  inno- 
cence has  now  been  clearly  established,  and  he  stands 
before  the  world  as  a man  who  has  been  very  cruelly 
maligned,  and  the  victim  of  a plot  which  has  been  quite 

[67] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

extraordinary  in  its  ramifications.  It  was  at  last  found 
possible  to  get  the  cover  in  which  the  original  packet 
of  plates  was  wrapped,  and  on  it  were  found  unmistak- 
able signs  that  it  had  been  tampered  with  and  opened. 
Thus  the  deductions  made  in  the  text  from  the  evidence 
already  to  hand  have  been  absolutely  justified,  and  it 
is  clear  that  the  marked  plates  were  abstracted  before 
the  packet  reached  the  Psychic  College  and  two  ordinary 
plates  substituted,  upon  one  of  which  Hope  produced 
an  “extra.”  The  conclusion  was  reached  by  the  acumen 
and  patience  of  Mr.  Hewat  McKenzie,  but  his  results 
were  examined  and  endorsed  unanimously  by  a strong 
committee,  which  included,  besides  myself,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  McKenzie,  General  Carter,  Colonel  Baddeley,  Mr. 
Stanley  de  Brath,  Mrs.  Stobart,  Miss  V.  R.  Scatcherd, 
Mrs.  de  Crespigny,  Mr.  H.  C.  Scofield  and  Mr.  F. 
Bligh  Bond.  It  now  only  remains  to  find  out  who  is 
the  culprit  who  has  played  this  cunning  trick,  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  say  that  the  hand  which  returned  the 
marked  plate  through  the  post  is  the  same  hand  as  that 
which  took  it  out  of  the  packet.  A reward  has  already 
been  offered  for  the  identification  of  the  person  con- 
cerned. In  the  meantime  it  would  be  unfair  to  blame 
the  agents  of  the  S.P.R.,  who  may,  while  trying  to  trick 
Hope,  have  been  themselves  tricked.  Nothing,  how- 
ever, can  excuse  them  from  the  charge  of  culpable  negli- 
gence in  failing  to  examine  the  wrappers  which  so 
clearly  tell  the  story,  and  which  have  been  kept  so  long 
in  their  possession.  As  the  matter  stands,  five  persons 
stand  as  defendants : Mr.  Harry  Price,  Mr.  Moger,  Mr. 
James  Seymour,  Miss  Newton,  Secretary  of  the  S.P.R., 
and  Mr.  Dingwall,  Research  Officer  of  that  body.  If 

[68] 


MRS.  DEANE  AND  MR.  VEARNCOMBE 

there  is  someone  else  in  the  background  who  has  tricked 
them,  then  it  is  for  them  to  find  out  who  it  is.  Their 
negligence  has  been  such  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  what 
atonement  can  meet  it,  and  it  throws  a very  lurid  light 
upon  some  of  the  so-called  “exposures”  of  the  past.  As 
one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  S.P.R.,  I feel  that 
the  honour  of  that  body  will  not  be  cleared  until  they 
have  appointed  an  impartial  committee  to  consider  these 
facts  and  to  determine  what  steps  should  be  taken. 

Arthur  Conan  Doyle. 

November  14th,  1922. 


[69] 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE  GENESIS  AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 

By  F.  R.  Scatcherd 

Member  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research, 

Co- Editor  of  the  Asiatic  Review 

(Miss  Felicia  Scatcherd,  who  has  been  one  of  the  true  psychic 
researchers  and  pioneers  of  knowledge  in  this  country,  has  con- 
tributed the  following  information  which  she  gained  during  her 
close  association  with  the  Crewe  Circle  at  and  after  the  time  of 
its  formation.) 

Questioned  about  himself,  Mr.  Hope  said  that  he  was 
christened  “Billy  Hope,”  and  was  bom  at  or  near  Man- 
chester. His  first  memory  is  of  having  scarlet  fever 
when  he  was  four  years  old.  During  the  fever  he  used 
to  see  all  sorts  of  faces  peering  at  him  through  the  door- 
way, and  became  so  frightened  that  he  screamed  for 
his  father  to  come  and  send  them  away.  Now  that  he 
knows  about  clairvoyance,  he  thinks  otherwise  of  those 
visions.  He  lost  his  mother  when  he  was  nine,  and  re- 
members little  about  her.  It  is  a curious  fact,  as  he 
observed : “I  have  washed  for  her  picture  hundreds  of 
times,  and  sat  for  it  many  a while,  and  have  never  yet 
got  it.  These  things  beat  me.” 

When  asked  did  he  grieve  much  for  his  mother’s 
death,  he  replied  that  he  was  brought  up  in  a religious 
family,  his  father  being  a local  preacher.  Later  on  Mr. 
Hope,  Senior,  lost  all  his  worldly  possessions. 

“My  father  was  wealthy  according  to  my  ideas,” 

[70] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 


said  Mr.  Hope.  “He  had  two  farms,  but  late  in  life 
lost  his  money.” 

Mr.  Hope  was  well  cared  for  by  his  mother  as  long 
as  he  had  her,  and  afterwards  by  his  step-mother. 

“She  was  a good  woman:  and  I had  an  aunt  of  a 
religious  frame  of  mind  who  also  kept  an  eye  on  me.” 

“You  must  have  been  a very  good  little  boy,”  I said. 

“Oh  dear,  no!  I was  much  the  same  as  the  other 
lads.  I played  plenty  of  truant,  and  once  joined  a party 
of  seven  and  ran  the  schoolmaster  round  the  room. 
We  had  agreed  beforehand  what  we  would  do  if  he 
began  a-thrashing  of  us.  But  don’t  put  that  in,  Miss 
Scatcherd !” 

Spirit  photography  first  interested  him  when  he  was 
working  at  a bleach  and  dye-works  near  Pendleton. 
Being  an  amateur  photographer,  he  and  a comrade 
agreed  to  photograph  each  other  one  Saturday  after- 
noon. Mr.  Hope  exposed  a plate  on  his  friend  and 
developed  it,  when  they  saw  a woman  standing  beside 
him.  The  brick  wall  showed  through  the  figure,  there 
being  no  background.  The  sitter,  a Roman  Catholic, 
was  frightened,  and  asked  how  the  woman  had  got  on 
the  plate,  and  did  Mr.  Hope  know  her.  When  Mr. 
Hope  replied  that  he  did  not  know  the  lady  nor  how  she 
got  there,  the  man  said  it  was  his  sister  who  had  been 
dead  for  many  years. 

Neither  knew  anything  of  spiritualism,  so  they  took 
it  to  the  works  on  Monday  and  showed  it  to  their  fore- 
man, who  happened  also  to  be  an  amateur  photographer, 
and  was  “lost  in  wonder”  over  it.  But  there  was  a 
fellow  worker,  a spiritualist,  who  said  it  was  a spirit 
photo.  The  foreman  arranged  that  the  experiment 

[71] 


THE  CASE  EOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


should  be  repeated  with  the  same  camera  the  following 
Saturday,  when  not  only  the  identical  woman  appeared 
again  but  with  her,  her  little  dead  baby. 

“I  thought  this  very  strange,”  said  Mr.  Hope;  “it 
made  me  more  interested  in  spirit  photography,  and  I 
have  been  dabbling  at  it  ever  since.  I felt  sorry  for 
my  mate,  he  was  so  scared.  When  he  saw  the  second 
result,  I thought  he  would  have  pegged  out”  (died  of 
fright). 

The  Circle  used  to  destroy  all  negatives.  The  mem- 
bers did  not  want  anyone  to  know  about  their  spirit 
photography,  as  many  people  did  not  want  to  do  busi- 
ness with  them,  saying  it  was  all  the  devil’s  work.  Till 
the  advent  of  Archdeacon  Colley  on  the  scene  not  a 
single  negative  was  kept.  After  a print  was  taken  the 
negative  was  destroyed. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buxton  met  Mr.  Hope  some  seventeen 
years  ago  at  the  Spiritualist  Hall  at  Crewe,  where  Mr. 
Buxton  was  organist.  After  the  service  Mr.  Hope 
asked  Mr.  Buxton  if  he  could  find  one  or  two  friends 
to  form  a circle  to  sit  for  spirit  photography.  This  was 
done,  and  it  was  arranged  to  use  the  next  Wednesday 
evening  from  eight  to  nine. 

One  of  the  circle  of  six  was  a non-spiritualist,  but 
was  converted  when  a picture  of  his  father  and  mother 
was  obtained.  A strange  thing  is  that  when  all  were 
anxiously  desiring  a picture,  a message  appeared  on  the 
first  plate  exposed.  This  message  promised  a picture 
next  time,  and  stated  that  it  would  be  for  the  master  of 
the  house.  The  promise  was  kept  several  sittings  later, 
when  the  picture  of  Mr.  Buxton’s  mother  and  cf  Mrs. 
Buxton’s  sister  came  on  the  plate.  Mr.  Buxton  was  of 

[72] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 


the  opinion  that  this  was  given  to  do  away  with  the 
idea  of  thought  photography.  They  were  all  thinking 
of  a picture  and  never  dreamed  that  such  a thing  as 
a written  message  would  be  given.  They  have  been 
very  persevering,  having  sat  regularly  ever  since,  each 
Wednesday  from  eight  to  nine,  securing  a picture  on 
an  average  of  one  a month  at  the  outset. 

There  have  been  many  storms  before  which  have 
broken  over  the  Crewe  Circle,  but  the  cause  of  them 
has  usually  been  the  limited  knowledge  of  the  strange 
possibilities  ol  psychic  photography  on  the  part  of  the 
sitters  and  of  the  public.  One  of  the  most  notorious  of 
these  so-called  “exposures”  (which  really  were  expos- 
ures of  the  critics’  ignorance)  was  in  1908,  and  arose 
out  of  Archdeacon  Colley’s  first  sitting.  He  had  heard 
that  the  Crewe  Circle  were  simple-looking  folk,  and 
this  attracted  him,  so  he  broke  his  journey  at  Crewe  and 
called  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hope,  who  had  just  lost  their 
eldest  daughter.  The  Archdeacon  apologised  for  hav- 
ing come  at  such  a time,  but  Mr.  Hope  sent  him  on  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buxton,  where  he  was  shown  the  photos 
and  asked  to  see  the  negatives.  He  was  shocked  when 
he  heard  that  they  had  all  been  destroyed,  and  from 
that  time  kept  all  negatives  he  was  able  to  get  hold  of. 
The  Archdeacon  brought  his  own  camera,  loaded  at 
Stockton  with  his  own  diamond-marked  plates.  He 
kept  the  plates  in  his  own  possession  and  focussed  the 
camera,  which  he  put  up  outside  the  house , although 
it  was  raining.  Mr.  Hope  merely  pressed  the  bulb  and 
Archdeacon  Colley  developed  the  plates  with  his  own 
developer.  When  he  held  the  picture  to  the  light  he 
exclaimed:  “My  father  and  my  sainted  mother!” 

[73] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

Mr.  Hope  was  the  first  to  notice  the  likeness  between 
“Mrs.  Colley”  and  a picture  he  had  copied  about  two 
years  ago,  and  cycled  with  it  to  Mr.  Spencer,  of  Nant- 
wich.  Mrs.  Spencer  declared  it  to  be  her  grandmother, 
and  cried  out,  “Oh,  if  this  had  only  come  with  us  how 
pleased  we  should  have  been !” 

Mr.  Hope  then  wrote  to  Archdeacon  Colley  telling 
him  it  could  not  be  his  mother,  as  it  had  been  recognised 
at  Nantwich.  The  Archdeacon  said  it  was  madness  to 
think  a man  did  not  know  his  own  mother,  and  adver- 
tised in  the  Leamington  paper,  asking  all  who  remem- 
bered his  mother  to  meet  him  at  the  Rectory,  when 
eighteen  persons  selected  the  photograph  from  several 
others  and  testified  in  writing  that  the  picture  was  a 
portrait  of  the  late  Mrs.  Colley,  who  had  never  been 
photographed. 

The  Crewe  friends  heard  no  more  about  the  matter 
until  the  controversy  in  Light  (February  14th,  1914, 
and  subsequent  numbers).  The  extraordinary  igno- 
rance, even  of  the  spiritualistic  public,  on  these  matters, 
was  revealed  by  the  storm  of  indignation  that  burst 
upon  the  devoted  heads  of  the  Crewe  Circle  and  their 
supporters.  The  testimony  of  such  students  and  schol- 
ars as  the  late  Mr.  James  W.  Sharpe,  M.A.,  of  Bourne- 
mouth, an  eminent  mathematician  and  expert  authority 
on  all  questions  of  psychical  research,  did  little  to  allay 
the  outburst.  In  vain  it  was  pointed  out  that  no  fact 
was  better  vouched  for  than  the  reproduction  by  “spirit” 
photographers  of  well-known  pictures  and  photographs, 
often  true  in  every  detail  to  the  originals.  The  theory 
and  fact  of  ideoplasticity  were  ridiculed  just  as  they  are 
ridiculed  to-day  by  those  who  should  keep  themselves 

[74] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 

up-to-date  in  physical  science,  if  they  wish  to  judge 
justly  the  yet  more  complex  problems  of  psychical 
science. 

The  Society  for  Psychical  Research  was  as  unhelpful 
as  the  “man  in  the  street,”  so  far  as  its  leading  author- 
ities were  concerned. 

To  return  to  the  beginning  of  things : it  was  on  July 
1 6th,  1909,  when,  in  response  to  a telegram  from  Arch- 
deacon Colley,  I went  to  Leamington,  where  I first  met 
the  Rev.  Prof.  Henslow  and  two  members  of  the  Crewe 
Circle  who  were  on  a visit  to  the  Archdeacon.  A seance 
for  spirit  photography  was  held.  It  was  disappointing 
in  one  sense.  Prof.  Henslow  was  told  that  he  would 
find  impressions  on  certain  plates  in  a sealed  packet  on 
the  table  which  was  not  to  be  opened  for  a fortnight . 

I prepared  to  say  good-bye,  when  Mr.  Hope  said  he 
would  like  to  do  something  for  the  visitor  from  Lon- 
don. “The  friends  say  that  if  the  lady  can  remain  the 
night  they  will  give  her  a test.”  I replied  that  the  only 
test  of  interest  to  me  was  one  that  would  convince  my 
fellow-members  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research. 
The  mediums  insisted,  but  I refused  to  stay  unless 
Prof.  Henslow  also  remained  and  took  charge  of  the 
proceedings. 

“Sir,  do  stay !”  pleaded  Mr.  Hope.  “There  are  five 
of  us — you,  the  Archdeacon,  Mrs.  Buxton,  Miss  Scatch- 
erd  and  myself.  You  must  buy  five  plates  from  your 
own  photographer.  Each  plate  must  be  put  into  a light- 
tight envelope  and  worn  by  the  sitter,  with  the  sensitised 
surface  next  to  the  person,  until  the  seance.  It  will  not 
take  long  to  fetch  the  plates  and  bring  them  back  to  us. 
Thus  we  shall  have  an  hour  to  wear  them  before  the 

[75] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

seance  this  evening.  It  is  the  only  way  to  get  them 
magnetised  so  as  to  have  immediate  results.  You  can 
each  develop  your  own  plate  to-night  and  then  Miss 
Scatcherd  will  know  whether  the  friends  have  kept 
their  word.” 

Prof.  Henslow  good-naturedly  agreed  and  drove  off 
with  the  Archdeacon  to  purchase  the  plates.  I remained 
with  Mrs.  Buxton  and  Mr.  Hope.  Within  an  hour 
the  Archdeacon  returned  with  four  plates  put  up  as 
directed.  Professor  Henslow  had  gone  home  to  dinner 
wearing  his  plate  in  a wood  slide  contrived  by  Arch- 
deacon Colley.  Mrs.  Buxton  and  I tucked  ours  inside 
our  blouses  and  Mr.  Hope  placed  his  in  that  trouser- 
pocket  which  has  aroused  such  evil  suspicions  in  the 
minds  of  investigators.  We  remained  together  until 
Prof.  Henslow  joined  us.  It  was  full  daylight  We 
sat  round  the  table  when  Mr.  Hope  asked : 

“What  do  you  want,  Miss  Scatcherd?  A face?  A 
message?  What  shall  it  be?” 

“You  forget  my  conditions;  Prof.  Henslow  must 
decide.  Let  him  choose,”  I replied. 

Prof.  Henslow  said  he  did  not  care  what  came  so 
long  as  the  same  thing  appeared  on  all  the  plates.  It 
was  a remark  worthy  of  the  speaker,  conveying,  as  it 
did,  a most  crucial  test,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
never  let  his  plate  out  of  his  own  keeping.  The  usual 
seance  was  held. 

Prof.  Henslow  developed  his  plate  first.  I developed 
mine  under  Archdeacon  Colley’s  supervision,  then  Mrs. 
Buxton  and  Mr.  Hope  developed  theirs. 

The  results  are  of  interest.  The  Archdeacon  did  not 
wear  a plate  so  as  to  leave  “more  power  for  the  others.” 

[76] 


HISTORY  OF  THE  CREWE  CIRCLE 


Mr.  Hope’s  plate  was  blurred.  The  tablet  on  Prof. 
Henslow’s  was  identical  in  outline  with  Mrs.  Buxton’s 
and  mine,  both  of  which  were  sharp  and  clear,  but  Mrs. 
Buxton’s  was  the  best.  Mrs.  Buxton  had  been  with 
me  the  whole  time,  and  her  six-months-old  baby  had 
never  left  her  arms. 

The  message  addressed  to  Prof.  Henslow  was  ap- 
propriate, but  the  writing  was  so  microscopically  fine 
that  we  could  not  read  it  that  night.  Mr.  Hope  was 
very  disappointed.  “Never  mind,”  he  said,  “when  we 
get  home  we  will  ask  the  guides  to  give  it  us  again !” 
He  and  Mrs.  Buxton  were  leaving  by  the  early  morn- 
ing train.  The  Archdeacon  had  charge  of  the  nega- 
tives and  had  promised  to  let  us  know  as  soon  as  he 
had  deciphered  the  message. 

The  mediums  did  not  like  their  lodgings,  so  slept  at 
my  hotel.  I saw  them  off  in  the  morning,  before  any 
of  us  knew  what  the  message  was.  A day  or  two  later 
I received  from  the  mediums  a duplicate  of  the  mes- 
sage not  yet  known  to  them  or  to  myself.  But  this 
time  the  writing  was  large  enough  to  be  read  by  the 
naked  eye.  As  Prof.  Henslow  had  requested,  the  same 
thing  had  come  on  all  the  plates  in  differing  degrees  of 
distinctness. 

This  was  my  first  experience  of  a Crewe  skotograph, 
and  it  was  decisive.  As  I wrote  in  the  Psychic  Gazette 
from  notes  submitted  to  Archdeacon  Colley  at  the  time, 
and  afterwards  read  by  Prof.  Henslow  when  published, 
no  suspicions  could  fall  either  on  the  mediums,  Arch- 
deacon Colley  or  myself,  as  not  one  of  us  had  had  the 
chance  of  tampering  with  Prof.  Henslow’s  plate,  nor 
could  Prof.  Henslow  and  his  photographer  have  pre- 

[77] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


pared  a series  of  plates  for  an  occasion  on  which  they 
had  no  reason  to  have  reckoned. 

I wrote  a minute  account  of  these  early  experiments, 
according  to  the  strictest  psychical  research  methods, 
and  left  it  with  Mr.  Wallis,  the  then  editor  of  Light. 
He  did  not  publish  it,  and  when  I returned  to  England 
it  could  not  be  found.  This  incident  is  briefly  recorded 
by  Prof.  Henslow  in  Proofs  of  the  Truths  of  Spiritual- 
ism, pp.  224-7. 


[78] 


Fig.  16. — Photomicrograph  by  Major  R.  E.  E.  Fig.  17. — Photomicrograph  by  Major  R.  E.  E. 

Spencer  of  portion  of  Archdeacon  Colley’s  Spencer  of  portion  of  Archdeacon  Colley’s  sig- 

signature  taken  from  letter  written  during  his  nature  on  psychograph  appearing  after  his 

lifetime.  ( See  p.  84.)  death.  Compare  with  Figs.  2.  and  16. 


Fig  18.— Photograph  of  Mr.  Wm.  Walker  Fig.  19.— Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harry  Walker  and  two 

with  message  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  friends  with  psychic  likeness  of  Mr.  Walker’s 

W.  T.  Stead.  ( See  p.  87.)  father.  Compare  with  Fig.  18. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS  OF 
PSYCHIC  PHOTOGRAPHY 

By  Fred  Barlow 

Hon.  Sec.  S.S.S.P.,  Hon.  Sec.  Birmingham  and  Midland  S.P.R. 

No  phase  of  psychical  research  has  been  more  adversely 
criticised  in  the  past  than  psychic  photography.  This 
is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  prevalence  of  many  erroneous 
ideas  on  the  whole  subject. 

It  is  a popular  fallacy  that  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the 
world  to  fake  a “spirit”  photograph.  Those  few  pho- 
tographers who  have  tried  to  imitate  a genuine  psychic 
effect  have  usually  made  the  discovery  that  it  is  by  no 
means  so  easy  a matter  as  it  appears,  even  when  no 
restriction  is  placed  on  the  conditions  under  which  the 
fake  should  be  produced.  When  conditions  are  im- 
posed, similar  to  those  usually  obtaining  with,  say,  the 
Crewe  Circle,  the  difficulty  of  producing  a fraudulent 
result  is  enormously  increased.  Under  certain  condi- 
tions, where  suitable  precautions  are  employed  and 
where  the  sitter  has  a thorough  knowledge  of  photog- 
raphy, plus  an  acquaintance  with  trick  methods,  even 
the  possibility  of  deception  without  detection  can,  for 
all  practical  purposes,  be  ruled  out  of  court.  Under 
these  special  conditions,  investigators  of  repute  have  on 
many  occasions  secured  successful  psychic  results . 

Apart  altogether  from  any  question  of  test  condi- 
tions, however,  there  are  certain  results  which,  in  them - 

[79] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

selves,  afford  definite  proof  of  their  genuine  nature.  I 
refer  to  those  recognised  psychic  likenesses  obtained  by 
sitters  who  are  quite  unknown  to  the  sensitives  and 
who  have  secured  results  which  could  not  possibly  have 
been  prepared  in  advance.  One  such  case  would  be 
sufficient  to  establish  the  reality  of  psychic  photography. 
It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  this  has  actually  oc- 
curred on  scores  of  occasions,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
evidence  for  the  truth  of  psychic  photography  is 
overwhelming. 

It  has  been  said  that  recognised  psychic  likenesses 
exists  only  in  the  imagination  of  the  individuals  claim- 
ing them  as  such.  It  is,  alas,  too  true  that  some  well- 
meaning  individuals  will  see  a likeness  where  none 
exists.  It  is,  however,  equally  true  that  many  bigoted 
sceptics  will  refuse  to  acknowledge  a likeness  that  is 
obvious  to  the  unprejudiced  on  comparing  normal  and 
supernormal  photographs.  There  are  two  sides  to  the 
question  of  credulity,  and  I have  known  sceptics  deny 
the  reality  of  a likeness  where  the  supernormal  effect 
has  been  an  exact  (but  draped)  duplicate  of  a normal 
photograph ! 

We  must  remember  that  it  may  be  difficult  to  recog- 
nise a likeness  between  a normal  and  supernormal  photo- 
graph where  the  subject  to  us  is  unknown.  Two  photo- 
graphs of  the  same  individual,  taken  at  different  pe- 
riods, will  often  vary  considerably,  but  those  acquainted 
with  that  individual  can  recognise  the  likeness  of  each 
photograph  to  the  original  without  the  slightest  diffi- 
culty. So  in  a supernormal  photograph : those  claiming 
a likeness  between  the  supernormal  effect  and  some  near 
relative,  or  friend,  who  has  crossed  the  border,  are  in  a 

[80] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 


better  position,  from  their  knowledge  of  that  person, 
to  speak  with  authority  on  the  question  of  recognition 
than  those  who  never  saw  the  original.  This  question 
of  recognised  likenesses  is  a point  the  critic  tries  to 
evade.  The  reader  can  judge  of  the  value  of  this  evi- 
dence from  the  few  illustrations  in  this  booklet  which 
are  typical  of  hundreds  of  similar  results. 

The  mental  attitude  of  some  intelligent  people  to 
psychic  photography  is  distinctly  curious.  They  have 
got  the  idea  fixed  into  their  heads  that  these  photo- 
graphs must  be  one  of  two  things — “fakes”  or  “spirits.” 
Naturally  enough,  in  some  of  the  cases  that  have  been 
reported  they  find  it  difficult  to  believe  that  such  a re- 
sult could  have  been  produced  entirely  by  a discarnate 
entity.  Therefore  they  jump  to  the  false  conclusion 
that  the  result  must  of  necessity  have  been  faked.  In 
a scientific  investigation  we  should  first  of  all  concern 
ourselves  with  facts , without  troubling  over-much  with 
theories.  A very  little  first-hand  investigation  will 
satisfy  any  unprejudiced  individual  as  to  the  reality 
of  psychic  photography.  Having  reached  that  stage 
such  a person  will  be  in  a better  position  to  theorise 
on  the  cause  of  the  phenomena. 

After  many  years  of  close  concentration  on  this 
subject  I have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  psychic 
photography  differs  only  in  kind  and  not  in  degree  from 
other  phases  of  psychic  phenomena.  I do  not  see  how 
we  can  possibly  get  away  from  the  fact  that  many  of 
these  photographic  effects  are  produced  by  discarnate 
intelligences.  Whilst  firmly  believing  this,  I should 
never  be  so  dogmatic  as  to  claim  that  all  supernormal 
pictures  have  been  produced  by  discarnate  spirits 

[81] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


Spirit,  whether  discarnate  or  incarnate,  to  manifest 
to  our  material  senses  must  make  use  of  matter — there 
must  be  a medium.  A medium,  or  sensitive,  is  just 
as  essential  for  psychic  photography  as  for,  say,  auto- 
matic writing.  As  investigators  are  aware,  in  auto- 
matic script  it  frequently  happens  that  along  with  com- 
munications from  the  “other  side”  come  writings  de- 
rived from  the  subconsciousness  of  the  automatist,  and 
such,  I am  convinced,  is  often  the  case  in  psychic  pho- 
tography. 

The  subconscious  is  used  to  cover  a multitude  of 
theories.  Certainly  it  is  not  an  unfeasible  explanation 
in  some  instances.  Let  me  cite  one  case,  which  is  typi- 
cal of  many.  One  of  the  members  of  the  S.S.S.P. — 
Mr.  Hobbs,  of  Purley,  a keen  business  man — travelled 
to  Crewe  with  his  wife.  They  and  the  Crewe  Circle 
were  perfect  strangers  to  each  other.  Mrs.  Hobbs  at 
the  time  was  wearing  a locket  containing  a photograph 
of  their  son,  who  had  been  killed  in  the  war.  This 
was  tucked  away  out  of  sight  in  her  blouse.  The 
usual  seance  was  held  and  to  their  great  delight  the 
visitors  secured  a picture  of  their  boy.  Trickery  was 
impossible.  Even  supposing  Mr.  Hope  had  seen  the 
photograph  in  the  locket  there  was  no  time  to  produce 
a fraudulent  result  and  foist  this  upon  the  alert  sitters. 
A careful  examination  of  the  print,  however,  reveals 
the  fact  that  the  psychic  picture  is  an  exact  but  re- 
versed duplicate  of  the  photograph  in  the  locket.  Even 
the  rim  of  the  locket  can  be  clearly  seen.  This  sort  of 
thing  has  occurred  time  and  again. 

The  image  of  the  locket  would  be  indelibly  impressed 
on  the  memory  of  the  mother,  and  it  may  well  be  that 

[82] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 

in  some  peculiar  way  the  sensitive  proved  a medium 
for  the  projection  of  that  conscious  or  subconscious 
image  on  to  the  photographic  plate.  Such  an  argument 
is  not  to  be  lightly  dismissed,  and  the  fact  that  the 
image  obtained  on  the  plate  may  not  have  been  in  the 
conscious  mind  of  the  sitter  at  the  time  does  not  neces- 
sarily affect  the  issue.  I candidly  admit  that  some  such 
explanation  may  account  for  many  of  these  curious 
effects. 

Sometimes  the  psychic  pictures  are  facsimile  copies 
of  magazine  covers  and  pictures  no  fraudulent  medium 
would  ever  think  of  producing,  and,  like  the  faces  in 
our  dreams,  they  may  come  from  the  subconscious.  At 
the  same  time,  attempts  to  produce  definite  conscious 
thought-pictures,  with  the  co-operation  of  a photo- 
graphic medium,  have  almost  always  proved  abortive 
in  our  experiments  in  this  country.  Some  of  the  Con- 
tinental members  of  the  S.S.S.P.,  however,  have  con- 
centrated on  this  line  of  research  and  have  succeeded 
in  obtaining  thoughtgraphs  which,  more  or  less,  re- 
semble the  object  on  which  the  thoughts  of  the  subject 
have  been  intensely  concentrated.  These  experiments, 
and,  in  particular,  recent  photographic  experiments  in 
connection  with  subjects  under  hypnosis,  are  yielding 
encouraging  results. 

We  must  be  careful  not  to  overdo  the  subconscious. 
It  is  no  self-contained  unit,  but  rather  an  instrument 
used  in  the  production  of  these  phenomena.  In  con- 
sequence, it  frequently  happens  that  along  with  com- 
munications from  the  “other  side”  comes  matter  de- 
rived from  the  subconsciousness  of  the  sensitive  and 
even  from  that  of  the  sitter.  An  investigator  obsessed 

[83] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

with  the  idea  of  fraud  will  often  effectively  negative 
all  phenomena  by  his  unconscious  action  on  the  men- 
tality of  the  medium.  In  these  investigations  we  must 
use  that  uncommon  faculty  of  common  sense.  Com- 
mon sense  tells  us  that  we  cannot  accept  the  explana- 
tion that  all  psychic  photographs  are  produced  by  the 
thoughts  of  incarnate  beings.  Whether  it  agrees  with 
his  pet  theories  or  not,  the  serious  student  is  bound 
to  realise  that,  sooner  or  later,  other  minds  are  at  work 
distinct  from,  and  often  superior  in  intelligence  to, 
that  of  either  medium  or  sitter.  These  intelligences 
claim  to  be  the  spirits  of  the  so-called  dead.  They  sub- 
stantiate their  claims  by  giving  practical  proof  that 
they  are  whom  they  purport  to  be. 

For  example,  what  better  proof  of  survival  could  be 
given  by  a deceased  person  than  that  of  a message  in 
his  own  handwriting,  referring  to  events  that  happened 
after  his  death?  Such  messages  are  by  no  means  an 
unfrequent  occurrence.  There  can  be  no  doubt  about 
the  genuineness  of  the  handwriting.  Major  R.  E.  E. 
Spencer  has  gone  to  an  immense  amount  of  time  and 
trouble  in  making  photomicrographs  of  normal  and 
supernormal  writings  for  the  purpose  of  comparison. 
Illustrations  are  given  of  two  of  these  photomicro- 
graphs. Figure  16  shows  a portion  of  the  signature  of 
Archdeacon  Colley  taken  from  a letter  written  by  him 
before  death,  whilst  Figure  17  shows  a corresponding 
portion  reproduced  from  a photographic  message  re- 
ceived after  his  death.  This  message  referred  to  events 
subsequent  to  his  decease. 

Occasionally,  in  these  psychographs,  as  these  written 
photographic  messages  are  termed,  the  mentality  of 

[84] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 


the  medium  or  sitters  will  get  in  the  way,  with  very 
curious  results.  Throughout  all  these  phenomena, 
however,  there  is  every  indication  that  other  influences 
are  at  work.  Whoever  or  whatever  these  intelligences 
behind  the  scenes  may  be,  in  no  uncertain  voice  they 
claim  to  be  discamate  souls.  Surely  they  are  in  a 
better  position  to  form  a correct  opinion  hereon  than 
we  material  outsiders? 

How  do  the  psychic  images  get  on  to  the  plate?  Far 
too  much  time,  in  the  past,  has  been  lost  in  attempting 
to  convince  those  who  do  not  believe  (and  those  who 
do  not  want  to  believe),  of  the  genuine  nature  of  psychic 
photography,  and  our  ignorance  of  this  phenomenon 
is  appalling.  The  difficulties  attending  scientific  re- 
search in  this  domain  are  considerable.  So  far,  we 
can  only  definitely  say  that  in  many  instances  the 
psychic  figures  on  the  plate  are  not  objective  in  the 
same  sense  as  the  sitters.  The  supernormal  images 
have  every  appearance  of  having  been  projected  on 
to  the  sensitive  plate,  independently  of  the  lens  and 
camera.  In  employing  several  cameras  simultaneously, 
together  with  a stereo  camera,  I have  only  succeeded 
so  far  in  securing  a psychic  image  on  one  of  the  plates 
exposed. 

There  are  indications  that  in  some  cases  the  psychic 
effects  are  printed  on  to  the  plate  through  a psychic 
equivalent  to  our  normal  transparency — in  fact,  it  has 
come  to  be  known  as  a psychic  transparency.  Identical 
transparency  markings  are  to  be  found  on  the  plates 
of  photographic  sensitives  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
These  particular  markings  can  clearly  be  seen  over  the 
negative  obtained  by  Mr.  Harry  Price  in  his  experiment 

[85] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

with  Mr.  Hope.  I am  convinced  that  the  effect  obtained 
on  this  occasion  was  a genuine  psychic  result.  The 
possibility  of  this  is  freely  admitted  by  Mr.  Price.  The 
fact  that  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  the  psychic  images 
are  the  same  way  up  as  the  sitter  suggests  that  the 
“something”  that  occurs  actually  takes  place  after  the 
plate  has  been  inserted  in  the  dark  slide.  Such  small 
points  as  these  may  eventually  play  an  important  part 
in  the  final  solution  of  the  modus  operandi. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  object  of  this  book — the 
question  of  evidence.  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle  has 
dealt  so  thoroughly,  earlier  in  these  pages,  with  the 
recent  attacks  by  the  S.P.R.  and  the  Magic  Circle  that 
I do  not  propose  to  refer  to  them  again  here  at  length. 
As  illustrating  the  impartial  attitude  of  the  Society 
of  which  I have  the  honour  to  be  Secretary,  however, 
I would  like  to  say  that  almost  immediately  on  the 
publication  of  these  critical  reports  the  matter  was  dis- 
cussed by  the  members  of  this  Society,  and  it  was 
arranged  to  subject  the  whole  of  the  evidence  to  a 
thorough  investigation.  In  this  connection  the  S.S.S.P., 
in  conjunction  with  the  B.C.P.S.,  sought  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  and  the 
Occult  Committee  of  the  Magic  Circle. 

A proposal  was  sent  to  the  bodies  mentioned  ex- 
pressing the  desire  of  the  S.S.S.P.  to  subject  the 
charges  to  thorough  and  impartial  investigation,  and 
suggesting  that  three  members  from  each  of  these  four 
bodies  should  form  a committee  of  investigation.  The 
members  elected  by  the  S.S.S.P.  were  Dr.  Abraham 
Wallace,  President,  Col.  C.  E.  Baddeley,  C.M.G.,  O.G., 
and  Major  R.  E.  E.  Spencer,  three  careful  and  ex- 

[86] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 


perienced  investigators.  For  reasons  best  known  to 
themselves,  both  the  S.P.R.  and  the  Occult  Committee 
of  the  Magic  Circle  refused  to  entertain  this  sugges- 
tion. The  reader  can  draw  whatever  inference  he  likes 
from  this  uncompromising  attitude.  To  my  mind  such 
a refusal  is  directly  opposed  to  the  objects  for  which 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  was  formed. 

A striking  example  of  the  persistence  of  personality 
is  to  be  found  in  the  case  of  the  late  Mr.  Wm.  Walker, 
of  Buxton.  Mr.  Walker  was  the  President  of  the 
Buxton  Camera  Club.  Being  a keen  photographer,  he 
took  an  intense  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Crewe  Circle 
and  co-operated  with  them  in  numerous  experiments. 
He  was  the  first  photographer  to  obtain  psychic  photo- 
graphic results  in  colours  (by  the  Paget  process) 
through  the  mediumship  of  his  friends. 

Shortly  before  the  late  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead  left  this 
country  for  his  last  voyage  to  America,  Mr.  Walker 
saw  him  in  London.  Mr.  Stead  was  very  interested  in 
the  results  obtained  at  Crewe  and  strongly  urged  his 
friend  to  keep  him  posted  as  to  future  developments. 
A little  while  later  Mr.  Stead  was  drowned  on  the  ill- 
fated  Titanic.  On  May  6th,  1912,  Mr.  Walker,  in  ex- 
perimenting at  Crewe,  was  surprised  and  pleased  to 
receive  on  his  plates  a message  from  his  friend,  which 
read: 

“Dear  Mr.  Walker, 

“I  will  try  to  keep  you  posted. 

“W.  T.  Stead.” 

1 

Two  plates  had  been  exposed;  both  contained  the 
same  message,  but  in  one  case  the  writing  was  reversed 

[87] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


and  appeared  as  “mirror  writing/'  as  it  is  called.  This 
result  is  shown  by  Figure  18.  The  writing  does  not  re- 
produce very  clearly,  but  experts  have  declared  that, 
beyond  all  doubt,  it  is  identical  with  the  handwriting 
of  the  late  W.  T.  Stead. 

Mr.  Wm.  Walker  followed  Mr.  Stead  into  the  Great 
Beyond  a few  years  later.  Since  his  death  his  relatives 
and  friends  have  received  innumerable  tokens  of  his 
activities  on  the  “other  side,”  in  connection  with  the 
subject  in  which  he  was  so  interested  whilst  in  the  body. 
The  illustration  shown  by  Figure  19  represents  a normal 
photograph  of  Mr.  H.  Walker  and  his  wife  (son  and 
daughter-in-law)  and  two  friends,  with  a clearly- 
defined  supernormal  likeness  of  the  late  Mr.  Wm. 
Walker.  This  was  taken  under  satisfactory  test  con- 
ditions on  February  19th,  1916. 

As  illustrating  the  interest  Mr.  Walker  still  takes  in 
the  Crewe  Circle,  attention  is  directed  to  the  psycho- 
graph shown  by  Figure  20.  This  was  secured  late  on 
Friday  evening,  July  28th,  1922,  and  reads  (my  own 
punctuation)  : 

“Dear  Friends  of  the  Circle, 

“I  would  not  spend  a moment  with  the  Psychical 
Research  Scty,  because  they  are  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  fraud  hunters  and  I want  you  to  come  to 
Buxton  for  a sitting  with  Mrs.  Walker,  3,  Palace 
Rd.,  about  the  8th  9th  of  Aug.  Then  the  spirit 
friends  can  further  demonstrate  the  wondrous 
powers  which  to-day  are  needed  more  than  ever. 
Peace  be  with  you. 

“Yours  faithfully, 

“W.  Walker.” 

“Please  inform  Henry.” 

[88] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 


The  postscript  refers  to  Mr.  Walker’s  son,  who  re- 
sides in  Crewe.  I have  examined  a number  of  letters 
in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Walker,  senior,  and  find 
that  the  slip  in  spelling  is  such  that  he  might  make. 
A portion  of  one  of  these  letters  is  reproduced  on  Figure 
21,  and  when  compared  with  the  psychograph  along- 
side it  should  leave  no  doubts  in  the  mind  of  the  reader 
as  to  authorship. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  state  that  the  instruc- 
tions given  by  Mr.  Wm.  Walker  were  carried  out  to 
the  letter.  The  results  of  the  short  visit  of  the  Crewe 
Circle  to  Buxton  are  best  described  by  quoting  an  ex- 
tract from  a letter  I received  from  Mr.  Henry  Walker : 

“We  (Mrs.  Buxton,  Mr.  Hope  and  myself)  went 
to  Buxton  on  Wednesday,  9th  inst.  (August,  1922. 
— Ed.).  Two  sittings  were  held  and  four  exposures 
made. 

“The  first  exposure  was  made  on  mother,  and 
gives  a message  from  father  to  Mrs.  Buxton  and  Mr. 
Hope,  dealing  again  with  the  S.P.R.  test  and  promis- 
ing a puzzle. 

“The  second  exposure  was  made  on  mother,  Mrs. 
Marriott  (an  old  friend  of  ours)  and  myself,  and 
shows  a very  large  face  of  father  nearly  covering 
the  three  of  us. 

“I  developed  each  plate  carefully  and  noticed  the 
psychic  light  was  much  more  keen  than  the  daylight. 

“After  a rest  of  a couple  of  hours,  we  held  the 
second  sitting. 

“The  first  plate  exposed  on  mother  shows  a med- 
ley : a good  photo  of  father  and  a lot  of  flowers  or 
foliage  and  the  feathers  of  a Red  Indian  friend. 

“The  second  plate  only  shows  a few  lights. 

“I  fancy  father’s  record  alone  should  be  sufficient 
to  satisfy  any  sensible  being.  I daresay  I can  find 

[89] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

well  over  twenty  psychic  results  received  from  him 
on  different  occasions,  most  of  them  under  reason- 
able test  conditions. 

{Signed)  “H.  Walker.” 

The  Crewe  Circle  invariably  place  implicit  faith  in 
the  messages  they  receive  from  the  other  side.  These 
worthy  and  simple  people  are  very  closely  in  touch  with 
their  invisible  helpers,  who  advise  them,  by  means  of 
photographic  messages,  in  their  troubles  and  ailments. 
Occasionally  the  advice  given  has  been  directly  opposed 
to  the  wishes  of  the  mediums,  but  they  never  hesitate 
to  carry  out  these  instructions,  which  usually  prove 
that  the  directing  intelligences  possess  knowledge  and 
foresight  far  exceeding  that  of  their  human  instru- 
ments. 

I can  appreciate  that  some  of  my  readers  will  ex- 
perience difficulty  in  accepting  these  remarkable  state- 
ments. When  first  I heard  of  these  marvellous  things 
I put  them  down  to  credulity,  exaggeration,  and  so 
forth.  However,  I determined  to  get  at  the  truth  for 
myself.  Nothing  less  than  personal  experience  would 
satisfy  me.  The  first  psychic  photographs  I saw  did 
not  very  greatly  impress  me.  As  a photographer,  I 
recognised  that  I could  produce  similar  results,  and 
with  the  conceit  that  comes  from  ignorance  I suggested 
they  were  fakes.  Even  as  fakes  they  were  interesting, 
however,  and  on  inquiring  further  into  the  matter  I 
discovered  that  the  conditions  under  which  they  had 
been  secured  would  necessitate  smart  work  on  the  part 
of  a trickster.  Also  I was  puzzled  to  understand  how 
photographers  of  the  calibre  of  Mr.  J.  Traill  Taylor 
could  be  easily  gulled.  Eventually  I travelled  to  Crewe 

[90] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 

in  a rather  critical  frame  of  mind,  but  fully  prepared 
to  be  fair  to  the  mediums.  I received  a surprise.  The 
result  obtained  bore  a strong  resemblance  to  myself. 
It  could  easily  be  taken  as  a twin  brother.  I had  a 
brother  who,  when  he  died,  was  a little  older  than 
myself.  I was  given  practically  a free  hand  in  the 
photographic  operations,  and  was  impressed  by  the 
faith  and  honesty  of  the  mediums.  To  detail  all  the 
precautions  I took  from  time  to  time  to  eliminate  the 
possibility  of  conscious  and  even  unconscious  deception, 
in  my  further  experiments,  would  prove  a wearisome 
business.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  use  of  my  own 
apparatus  and  specially-prepared  plates,  the  dismissal 
of  the  medium  from  the  dark  room  for  all  the  photo- 
graphic operations,  the  sharp  look-out  that  was  kept 
for  certain  known  methods  of  faking,  and  the  con- 
ducting of  experiments  with  the  mediums  in  my  own 
home,  eventually  convinced  me,  beyond  all  doubt,  of 
the  reality  of  psychic  photography. 

I discovered  early  that  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
sitter  played  an  important  part  in  the  success  or  other- 
wise of  the  experiment.  We.  know  so  little  of  the 
difficulties  that  have  to  be  overcome — so  little  of  the 
laws  and  conditions  governing  the  production  oi  these 
wonderful  results,  that  it  is  essential  we  should  ap- 
proach the  subject  with  an  open  mind.  We  must  be 
sympathetic  in  our  methods  of  investigation.  A 
medium  is  sensitive  in  more  senses  than  one,  and  a 
little  tact  and  persuasion  will  succeed  where  bullying 
and  blustering  will  fail. 

With  the  three  photographic  sensitives  most  known 
in  this  country  I have  secured  remarkable  results. 

[91] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

Whatever  may  have  happened,  or  may  happen,  on  other 
occasions,  nothing  can  in  the  slightest  degree  shake  my 
firm  conviction  that,  with  these  three  sensitives,  I have 
secured  genuine  psychic  photographic  effects.  With 
Mrs.  Deane,  in  my  own  home,  we  secured  an  excellent 
picture  of  my  father  (see  Figure  30).  True,  Mrs. 
Deane  had  the  plates  beforehand  for  “magnetising,” 
but  that  would  not  enable  her  to  produce  an  unmistak- 
able likeness  of  someone  she  had  never  seen — a likeness 
which  could  not  have  been  produced  from  any  existing 
photograph,  in  the  very  unlikely  event  of  her  obtaining 
such.  Moreover  it  is  not  essential,  in  every  case,  that 
Mrs.  Deane  should  have  the  plates  beforehand  for  mag- 
netising. On  several  occasions,  members  of  the  S.S.S.P. 
have,  without  Mrs.  Deane’s  knowledge,  substituted  a 
fresh  unopened  packet  of  plates  for  the  unopened  packet 
she  has  had  with  her,  without  interfering  with  the 
success  of  the  experiment. 

Mr.  Vearncombe  has  been  most  successful  as  a 
medium  for  obtaining  results  on  plates  in  sealed  packets. 
Effectively  to  test  Mr.  Vearncombe,  I devoted  a great 
deal  of  time  to  wrapping  and  sealing  packets  which 
could  not  possibly  be  tampered  with  without  leaving 
some  trace  of  such  tampering.  Others  have  done  like- 
wise, and  on  the  plates  in  such  packets,  which  after  the 
most  careful  scrutiny  have  revealed  no  evidence  of 
tampering,  we  have  secured  successful  results.  On  one 
occasion  I persuaded  a local  professional  photographer 
to  seal  a packet  of  plates  before  I handled  them.  This 
he  did  very  thoroughly,  and  then  I added  my  own 
wrappings  and  seals  and  sent  the  package  on  to  Vearn- 
combe. Within  a week  the  packet  was  returned  intact. 

[92] 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 

Mr.  Frederic  Lewis  of  Birmingham,  who  co-op- 
erated with  me  in  this  test,  is  a technical  photographer 
of  more  than  average  ability  and  his  certificate  is  of 
value.  In  this  he  states  : 

“I  certify  that  on  May  14th,  1920,  I wrapped  and 
sealed  an  unopened  packet  of  Imperial  Special  Sensi- 
tive -plates  and  handed  the  packet  to  Mr.  Fred 
Barlow,  who  then  fixed  his  own  wrappings  and  seals. 
Mr.  Barlow  brought  back  the  packet  of  plates  to  me 
on  the  morning  of  May  20th,  1920,  and  in  my  pres- 
ence broke  his  own  wrappings  and  seals.  I then 
very  carefully  verified  that  my  own  seals  and  wrap- 
pings were  intact  and  am  quite  convinced  that  these 
had  not  been  interfered  with.  I personally  devel- 
oped the  plates  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Barlow.  On 
two  out  of  the  twelve  plates  in  the  package  distinct 
negative  images  of  faces  developed — one  face  on  one 
plate  and  three  small  faces  on  another.  I can  offer 
no  explanation  of  this  result  apart  from  being  per- 
fectly satisfied  that  no  trickery  or  deception  was 
practised. 

{Signed)  “Frederic  Lewis.” 

Could  anything  be  more  definite  and  conclusive  than 
that? 

With  the  Crewe  Circle  I have  had  so  many  tests  that 
it  is  difficult  to  select  the  most  stringent.  As  the  well- 
known  Price  case  of  alleged  fraud  bears  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  substitution  of  dark  slides,  the  following 
case  may  be  of  interest.  On  this  occasion  the  substi- 
tution of  dark  slides  was  impossible,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  no  dark  slides  were  used. 

Saying  nothing  to  the  members  of  the  Circle  before- 
hand, I took  with  me  to  Crewe  on  November  12th, 

[93] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


1921,  a loaded  box  camera  containing  six  specially- 
marked  plates  of  a size  smaller  than  those  usually  em- 
ployed in  experiments  of  this  nature.  All  that  Hope 
and  Mrs.  Buxton  did  was  to  arch  their  hands  over 
this  magazine  camera  whilst  one  of  them  flicked  the 
shutter-catch.  Photographic  readers  will  realise  that 
it  is  impossible  to  tamper  with  the  plates  in  a box 
camera,  in  daylight,  without  spoiling  the  lot.  To  en- 
able the  “power”  to  flow  from  Mr.  Hope  on  to  the 
plates,  the  controlling  intelligence  stipulated  that  Mr. 
Hope  should  be  allowed  to  take  hold  of  my  right  wrist 
as  I dropped  each  plate  into  the  developer.  Psychic 
effects  were  secured  on  two  out  of  the  six  plates  under 
conditions  which,  I am  convinced,  rendered  deception 
impossible.  I have  been  told  that  Mr.  Hope  must  have 
printed  the  effects  on  to  the  plates  by  flashlight  whilst 
he  had  hold  of  my  wrist.  If  the  critic  derives  any 
comfort  from  believing  that  this  actually  occurred  he 
is  welcome  to  his  belief ! 

In  another  evidential  case  is  that  already  mentioned 
by  Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle  of  an  experiment  conducted 
by  two  photographic  members  of  the  S.S.S.P.  and 
myself  at  Crewe.  In  this  case  the  camera  and  slides 
employed  were  brand  new  and  were  not  examined  by 
the  sensitives  until  after  the  sitting.  The  dark  slides 
differed  from  those  usually  employed  by  the  sensitives. 
Neither  Mr.  Hope  nor  Mrs.  Buxton  was  in  the  dark 
room  for  loading  the  slides  or  for  developing  the  plates. 
The  central  face  of  three  supernormal  faces  secured 
on  this  occasion  is  an  undoubted  likeness  of  the  father 
of  one  of  the  sitters.  The  result  was  absolutely  con- 
clusive to  my  friends  and  myself.  We  emphatically 

[94] 


Fig.  20. — Psychograph  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Fig.  21. — Portion  of  letter  written  by  Mr.  Wm. 

Wm.  Walker  obtained  at  Crewe  on  July  28th,  Walker  during  his  lifetime  for  comparison  with 

1922.  Compare  with  normal  handwriting  shown  psychograph  Fig.  20. 

in  Ficr  (Si>e  n 88^ 


si 

^ UN 

«+H 

J2  bio 
q.  u 'rr 

So^j- 

o 2 * 

Ph  c 


’.  J4 
rr>  u 
CM  O 
’V 
. ti 
O ns 


Fig.  22. — Mr.  S.  Maddocks,  Hon.  Sec.  of  the 
Sheffield  and  District  S.P.R.,  with  psychic 
photograph  of  his  first  wife.  Compare  with 
Fig.  23.  ( See  p.  113.) 


EVIDENTIAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  ASPECTS 

declare  that  under  the  circumstances  trickery  was  im- 
possible. 

Since  the  above  was  written  I have  been  favoured 
with  further  excellent  personal  proof.  On  October 
7th,  1922,  I secured  at  Crewe  several  fine  photographs 
of  my  father.  The  best  were  secured  on  plates  ex- 
posed in  a camera  brought  by  one  of  three  friends  who 
accompanied  me.  He  is  an  experienced  and  critical 
photographer,  and  was  responsible  for  the  whole  of 
the  photographic  operations.  Reference  to  Figure  31 
will  show  that  the  psychic  face  has  moved  and  appears 
in  no  less  than  six  different  places.  This  face  is  very 
similar  to  the  Deane  photo  (Figure  30),  but  by  no 
means  absolutely  identical. 

The  next  chapter  contains  a series  of  abbreviated 
accounts  and  reports  by  investigators  in  every  station  of 
life.  For  the  purpose  of  this  book  they  are  confined  to 
accounts  connected  with  the  Crewe  Circle.  In  my  ca- 
pacity of  Hon.  Secretary  to  the  S.S.S.P.  it  is  my  privi- 
lege to  receive  these  documents  in  ever-increasing  num- 
bers. I imagine  that  the  most  hardened  sceptic,  occupy- 
ing a similar  position  for  a few  months,  would  be 
convinced  of  the  reality  of  psychic  photography  by  this 
evidence  alone.  Knowing  it  to  be  true,  I look  forward 
with  confidence  to  that  day,  not  far  distant,  when  all 
this  talk  of  fake  and  fraud  shall  be  no  more  and  when 
the  psychologist  and  scientist  shall  combine  the  investi- 
gation of  this  vital  problem. 


[95] 


CHAPTER  IX 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF  FROM  MANY  SOURCES 

This  concluding  chapter  contains  a number  of  plain, 
straight  statements  from  those  possessing  first-hand 
knowledge  of  the  Crewe  Circle.  Such  positive  and 
definite  evidence  is  of  far  more  value  from  an  eviden- 
tial and  scientific  standpoint  than  the  mere  opinions  of 
those  who  have  never  investigated.  Owing  to  the 
exigencies  of  space  it  has  been  necessary  to  abbreviate 
most  of  these  accounts  and  also  to  omit  many  others, 
equally  convincing.  For  evidential  reasons  each  report 
or  contribution  contains  the  full  name  and  address  of 
the  communicator. 

The  Evidence  of  GEORGE  H.  LETHEM,  ESQ., 

JUSTICE  OF  THE  PEACE  FOR  THE  COUNTY  OF  THE 
CITY  OF  GLASGOW 

I first  heard  of  the  Crewe  Circle  in  the  autumn  of 
1918.  At  that  time  I was  editor  of  the  Daily  Record , 
Glasgow,  and  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Peter 
Galloway,  President  of  the  Glasgow  Association  of 
Spiritualists,  through  an  article  on  spiritualism  which 
he  contributed  to  that  paper. 

Mr.  Galloway  told  me  that  the  Crewe  Circle  were 
coming  to  Glasgow,  and  he  invited  me  to  attend  their 
first  sitting.  This  I agreed  to  do;  I bought  a packet  of 
quarter-plates  at  a City  shop,  took  note  of  the  wrapper 
markings  and  kept  the  packet  safe,  with  the  cover  un- 
broken. 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


My  wife  accompanied  me  to  the  sitting,  which  was 
held  in  a large,  well-lighted  attic  room  some  distance 
from  the  house  where  the  members  of  the  Circle  were 
lodging.  I saw  them  arrive,  saw  them  unpack  their 
photographic  outfit,  and  saw  them  borrow  a dark  cloth 
(which  I examined)  for  use  as  a background.  Obtain- 
ing permission,  I examined  the  camera,  the  slide,  the 
lens,  the  bellows  (for  pin-holes)  and  all  the  accessories, 
without  finding  anything  suspicious.  I treated  the  sit- 
ting as  a test  and  took  every  step,  so  far  as  I knew,  to 
provide  against  conscious  or  unconscious  deception. 

Including  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton,  there  were 
nine  or  ten  people  present.  To  all  of  these,  except  Mr. 
Galloway,  I was  quite  unknown,  and  I was  introduced 
simply  as  a “friend.” 

I had  time  to  complete  my  examination — in  which 
I included  the  little  adjoining  dark  room — before  the 
proceedings  began.  All  present  then  sat  round  a table, 
on  which  my  packet  of  plates  was  laid  within  my  reach 
and  in  my  sight.  There  were  hymns  and  a prayer,  then 
the  packet  was  lifted  and  held  for  a few  seconds  be- 
tween Mr.  Hope’s  hands,  with  the  hands  of  all  the 
others — my  own  included — above  and  below.  The 
packet,  which  was  never  out  of  my  sight,  was  then  re- 
turned to  me  and  I satisfied  myself  by  the  markings  that 
it  was  mine,  that  the  wrapper  was  intact,  and  that,  there- 
fore, there  could  have  been  no  tampering  with  the 
plates. 

Putting  the  unopened  packet  in  my  pocket,  I followed 
Mr.  Hope  into  the  dark  room,  taking  with  me  the  slide 
from  the  camera.  In  the  dark  room  Mr.  Hope  stood  in 
the  far  corner  and  I stood  close  by  the  door,  leaving  a 
clear  space  between  us.  Mr.  Hope  said,  in  explanation 
of  this  arrangement,  that  he  did  not  want  to  touch  the 
plates  but  only  to  see  that  I handled  them  properly. 

Taking  the  packet  from  my  pocket,  I broke  the  cover, 
extracted  two  plates  and  put  the  packet  back  in  my 
pocket.  Keeping  the  plates  within  Mr.  Hope’s  view 

[9  71 


THE  CASE  EOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


but  quite  out  of  his  reach,  I wrote  my  name  on  each  of 
them  and  put  them  into  the  slide,  which  I carried  out  of 
the  room  before  handing  it  to  Mr.  Hope.  Up  to  this 
point,  Mr.  Hope  had  quite  certainly  not  touched  the 
plates.  Having  seen  the  slide  placed  in  the  camera,  I 
sat  down  beside  my  wife,  facing  the  lens. 

The  camera  had  been  previously  focussed  and  an 
exposure  was  made — Mr.  Hope  standing  on  the  right 
and  Mrs.  Buxton  on  the  left  and  joining  hands  (Mr. 
Hope’s  left,  Mrs.  Buxton’s  right)  above  the  camera. 
In  this  attitude  Mr.  Hope  pressed  the  pneumatic  bulb 
with  his  right  hand  and  so  made  the  exposure,  which 
was  longer  than  for  an  ordinary  photograph.  Then  the 
slide  was  turned  and  a second  exposure  was  made  on 
other  two  members  of  the  party. 

When  the  second  exposure  was  completed,  Mr.  Hope 
took  the  slide  out  t)f  the  camera,  carried  it  into  the  dark 
room,  and  emptied  the  plates  into  my  hands  in  front  of 
the  red  glass  window.  Making  sure  that  my  signature 
was  on  each  of  the  plates,  I placed  them  in  a shaded 
receptacle,  signed  other  two  plates  and  put  them  into 
the  slide  with  the  same  precautions  as  before.  Then, 
seeing  Mr.  Hope  out  of  the  room,  I shut  the  door  and 
stood  before  it  whilst  two  other  exposures  were  made. 
Re-entering  the  dark  room,  I received  the  plates  from 
the  slide  as  before  and  proceeded  to  develop  the  four 
plates  with  material  supplied  by  Mr.  Hope,  who  re- 
mained in  the  room  but  stood  as  far  from  the  develop- 
ing dish  as  possible  and  left  the  whole  of  the  handling 
to  me. 

Standing  before  the  red  window,  I saw  the  images 
come  up  on  the  plates  and  noticed  that  on  three  of  them 
there  were  figures  other  than  the  ordinary  representa- 
tions of  the  sitters.  When  development  was  finished,  I 
carried  the  plates  from  the  dark  room  and,  before  any- 
one else  was  allowed  to  touch  them,  I examined  them 
individually  and  satisfied  myself  beyond  doubt  that  they 
were  the  four  identical  plates  on  which  I had  written 

[98] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


*ny  name  and  that  the  normal  figures  on  these  plates 
corresponded  with  the  four  exposures  I had  seen  made. 

That  each  of  the  four  plates  bore  my  signature,  clear 
and  characteristic,  I accepted  as  proof  that  these  were 
the  plates  I had  placed  in  the  slide  and  no  others,  for  it 
was  impossible  that  my  signature  could  have  been 
forged:  therefore,  I reasoned,  there  had  been  no  sub- 
stitution of  prepared  plates. 

Looking  through  the  negatives,  I could  see  that,  in 
addition  to  the  normal  figures  of  the  sitters,  there  were 
distinct  “extras”  on  three  of  the  plates,  each  “extra” 
being  distinct  in  form  from  the  others. 

On  No.  i plate — that  for  which  my  wife  and  I had 
been  the  sitters — there  was  the  clear  representation  of 
a face  looking  out  from  an  arched  veil.  This  “extra” 
was  superimposed  on  the  image  of  the  sitters  and  par- 
tially obscured  them,  as  if  the  “something”  it  repre- 
sented had  come  between  them  and  the  lens. 

As  soon  as  the  plate  was  dry,  a rough  print  was  ob- 
tained by  placing  a sheet  of  printing  paper  over  the 
negative  and  holding  it  up  to  the  window,  through 
which  the  sun  was  shining.  That  rough  print  showed 
the  normal  figures  and  the  “extra”  as  they  were  after- 
wards printed  by  Mr.  Hope. 

Five  possibilities  are,  therefore,  ruled  out  in  seeking 
to  account  for  this  particular  “extra” : 

1.  The  plates  were  not  faked  before  exposure. 

2.  There  was  no  substitution  of  plates. 

3.  There  was  no  double  exposure. 

4.  There  was  no  double  printing. 

5.  The  plate  was  not  faked  after  development. 

As  soon  as  the  rough  proof  of  plate  No.  1 was  ob- 
tained, the  face  of  the  “extra”  was  recognised  by  my 
wife  and  myself  as  an  unmistakable  likeness  of  our 
elder  son,  who  had  been  killed  in  the  war,  and  this 
recognition  was  corroborated  fully  and  completely 

[99] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


later  on  by  other  members  of  the  family,  and  is  there- 
fore beyond  dispute. 

In  considering  this  likeness  and  its  recognition,  I 
take  note  of  certain  facts,  namely : ( i ) That  Mr.  Hope 
did  not  know  me  and  did  not  know  my  son,  or  even  that 
I had  a son;  (2)  that  neither  Mr.  Hope  nor  anyone  in 
the  room,  save  my  wife  and  myself,  had  ever  seen  my 
son,  and  that  it  is  unlikely  that  any  one  of  them  had 
seen  his  photographs;  and  (3)  that  although  the  like- 
ness is  unmistakable,  the  image  of  the  face  is  not  a 
reproduction  of  any  normal  photograph. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  it  seemed  to  me  then,  and 
seems  to  me  still,  that  it  was  quite  impossible  that  Mr. 
Hope  could  have  consciously  produced  that  likeness 
either  by  skill  or  trick  or  both. 

I was  afterwards  present  at  several  of  Mr.  Hope's 
sittings  and  was  allowed  on  at  least  two  other  occasions 
to  accompany  him  into  the  dark  room  and  to  watch  the 
whole  of  his  procedure.  I kept  a keen  lookout  for 
tricks — with  many  of  which  I was  acquainted,  but  I 
saw  none. 

Also  I have  discussed  the  details  many  times  with 
photographic  experts  and  I have  read  the  accusations 
brought  against  Mr.  Hope,  and  I am  quite  satisfied  that 
— whatever  may  have  happened  on  other  occasions — 
none  of  the  suggestions  of  trickery  put  forward  can 
account  for  the  “extras”  I have  described,  and  particu- 
larly for  that  in  which  I am  most  directly  interested. 

( Signed ) George  H.  Lethem. 

Hazeldene, 

Harehills  Lane , 

Leeds. 


[100] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


The  Evidence  of  W.  G.  MITCHELL,  ESQ., 

OF  DARLINGTON 

{Mr.  Mitchell  is  a Vice-President  of  the  S.S.S.P., 
and  President  of  the  Darlington  Photographic 
Society.  He  is  a photographer  and  investigator 
of  considerable  experience .) 

I first  came  in  touch  with  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton 
at  Crewe.  My  second  meeting  with  these  good  people 
was  at  Middlesbrough,  where  they  were  spending  a 
holiday.  I have  thus  had  an  opportunity  of  experi- 
menting in  the  atmosphere  of  their  own  seance-room 
and  studio,  and  also  under  the  improvised  conditions 
of  a friend’s  residence. 

The  subject  of  supernormal  photography  was  not 
entirely  new  to  me.  I had  met  Mr.  Edward  Wyllie, 
the  “spirit”  photographer,  when  in  Ireland,  and  watched 
his  operations  almost  daily  during  his  fortnight’s  so- 
journ in  that  country.  I subjected  him  to  the  most 
stringent  and  ingenious  tests  that  I could  devise.  As 
founder  and  president  of  a photographic  society,  I 
was  fully  alive  to  all  the  possibilities  of  faking,  but  was 
quite  satisfied  that  I had  removed  from  Mr.  Wyllie  any 
opportunity  to  indulge  in  photographic  legerdemain. 
With  all  my  caution,  results  persisted.  All  the  ordi- 
nary laws  of  photography,  as  far  as  I understood  them, 
were  upset  and  violated. 

But  to  get  back  to  the  Crewe  Circle.  I had  arranged 
with  a friend  who  was  at  that  time  editor-manager  of 
an  important  Northern  newspaper  to  visit  Crewe  for 
the  purpose  of  meeting  the  Crewe  Circle.  As  brother 
members  of  a psychical  research  society,  we  desired  to 
add  to  our  experiences.  Having  taken  the  precaution 
of  purchasing  plates  locally  and  following  the  usual 
recommendation  of  carrying  them  in  close  proximity  to 
the  body,  we  looked  forward  to  our  journey.  The  ap- 
pointed day  arrived,  but  no  day  in  modern  history  could 

[IOI] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

have  been  more  unsuitable  or  less  conducive  to  good 
results.  It  was  December  16th,  1914,  and  the  news 
tapped  out  over  the  “private  wire”  was  most  disquiet- 
ing; the  Huns  were  shelling  Scarborough  and  West 
Hartlepool.  My  friend  realised  that  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  desert  his  editorial  chair,  and  he  hurriedly 
gave  me  his  box  of  plates.  I met  Mr.  William  Walker, 
of  Buxton,  en  route , and  together  we  journeyed  to 
Crewe.  A short  devotional  service  was  held  in  the 
kitchen  of  Mrs.  Buxton’s  home,  during  which  I was 
informed  that  only  one  box  of  plates  could  be  dealt 
with.  I selected  the  box  purchased  by  my  absent  friend 
and  expressed  a desire  that  some  result  should  be  given 
that  would  give  him  satisfaction  and  conviction.  I was 
instructed  that  four  plates  would  be  dealt  with  and  that 
I could  select  any  particular  four  I desired  from  the 
box;  I named  the  third  and  fourth,  ninth  and  tenth. 
This  selection  secured  two  pairs  of  plates  that  would  be 
packed  film  to  film,  and  would  probably  be  hinged  to- 
gether with  emulsion. 

The  unsealed  box  was  then  placed  on  the  centre  of 
the  table,  and  as  it  bore  a rubber  stamp  impression  of 
the  firm  from  which  it  was  purchased  I am  quite  satis- 
fied that  there  was  no  substitution  of  boxes.  Mr.  Hope 
then  insisted  that  I should  dismantle  his  camera.  This 
I did  most  thoroughly,  giving  special  attention  to  the 
dark  slides,  lens  and  shutter. 

Having  placed  the  dark  slides  in  my  pocket,  we  en- 
tered the  dark  room,  where  I unpacked  the  box,  select- 
ing the  particular  plates  decided  upon,  wrote  my  initials 
across  the  corner  of  each,  placed  them  in  the  two  double 
back  dark  slides  and  placed  the  remainder  of  the  plates 
together  with  the  dark  slides  in  my  pocket.  We  ad- 
journed to  the  studio,  where  Hope  allowed  me  to 
choose  my  position  in  relation  to  the  background.  Mr. 
Walker  sat  in  the  chair,  I focussed  the  portrait  on  the 
focussing  screen  of  the  camera,  placed  the  dark  slide 
in  position  and  left  all  ready  for  making  the  exposure. 

[102] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


I then  went  and  took  a seat  beside  Mr.  Walker.  Mr. 
Hope  manipulated  the  lens  cap  with  one  hand  and  with 
his  other  clasped  Mrs.  Buxton’s,  thus  forming  an  arc 
over  the  bellows  of  the  camera.  After  the  first  plate 
was  exposed  I went  to  the  camera,  closed  the  dark  slide 
and  reversed  it,  then  sat  for  the  second  exposure. 

The  third  plate  was  next  used.  Mrs.  Buxton  asked 
me  to  place  the  dark  slide  containing  the  only  unex- 
posed plate  on  her  forehead,  this  I did  for  about  ten 
seconds. 

I then  retired  with  Mr.  Hope  to  the  dark  room,  where 
I personally  developed  the  four  plates.  On  three  out 
of  the  four  supernormal  effects  flashed  up,  and  after 
fixing  in  the  hypo-bath  we  brought  them  out  to  the 
light  for  examination. 

Plate  No.  i,  in  addition  to  the  normal  image,  showed 
a lengthy  message  of  exceedingly  minute  copperplate 
writing,  too  small  to  read  without  the  aid  of  the  magni- 
fying glass.  I could  just  discern  that  there  were  Greek 
characters  intermingled  with  other  languages,  including 
English. 

No.  2 plate  bore  only  the  normal  image. 

No.  3 plate  showed  the  supernormal  figure  of  a lady 
draped  in  some  material  of  fine  texture,  standing  by 
my  side. 

No.  4 plate,  the  one  held  on  Mrs.  B.’s  forehead, 
showed  a well-defined  face  of  a lady. 

The  long  message  on  No.  i contained  145  words, 
and  was  written  in  a jumble  of  languages,  English, 
Greek,  French,  and  Latin,  and  concluded  thus:  “And 
now,  friends,  we  have  given  you  this  advice  in  mixed 
languages,  so  that  it  will  help  to  support  the  claim  that 
the  unlearned  of  to-day  possess  the  same  powers  as  the 
humble  fishermen  of  biblical  history.  We  thank  you 
for  the  common-sense  way  in  which  you  have  met  us. 
...”  etc.  It  was  quite  two  years  before  I was  able 
to  get  the  Greek  portion  translated.  I eventually  met 
a young  Greek,  a student  of  Armstrong  College,  New- 

[103] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

castle,  who  told  me  that  it  was  a very  ancient  style  of 
Greek.  The  message,  when  translated,  was  quite  in- 
telligible to  me. 

No.  3 plate,  with  supernormal  portrait,  proved  to  be 
undeniably  the  portrait  of  the  deceased  mother  of  the 
wife  of  my  friend.  On  comparing  it  with  a life  portrait 
it  left  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  any  reasonable  person. 

The  portrait  on  No.  4 plate  I cannot  recognise. 

I have  a profound  conviction  that  Mr.  Hope  is  a 
genuine  medium,  honest  and  straightforward,  and  it 
would  take  a great  deal  to  shake  my  confidence  in  his 
integrity.  I have  followed  his  operations  for  years, 
and  find  them  a fruitful  source  of  instruction.  It  is 
only  those  who  have  experimented  in  “fake”  effects  who 
can  realise  the  difficulties,  and  with  a knowledge  of 
photography  I challenge  any  professional  or  amateur 
photographer  to  produce  anything  approaching  the 
same  effects  under  any  conditions.  They  find  it  abso- 
lutely impossible  under  the  same  conditions. 

It  is  unthinkable  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Buxton  would 
co-operate,  aid  and  abet  in  a continuous  fraud  on  the 
widowed  wife,  the  sorrowing  parent. 

{Signed)  W.  G.  Mitchell. 

3,  Harewood  Terrace, 

Darlington. 


An  Account  by  J.  WILLIAMS,  ESQ., 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  SPECIALIST,  OF  THE  PORTLAND  STUDIO, 
RHYL 

It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  that  I add  my  testi- 
mony to  the  truthfulness  and  absolute  sincerity  of  Mr. 
Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton. 

They  have  been  known  to  me  for  several  years ; alto- 
gether no  less  than  six  times  I have  had  sittings  with 
them.  In  every  case  they  have  allowed  me  every  facility 
to  eliminate  any  possible  fraud,  which  as  a photogra- 

[104] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 

pher  of  nearly  fifty  years’  experience,  I was  eager  to 
discover. 

One  experience  with  the  Crewe  Circle  was  this:  at 
one  sitting  I was  asked  what  plate  I would  choose  from 
a packet  of  twelve  plates;  it  was  decided  on  the  fourth 
from  the  top  of  the  packet.  The  camera  was  not  used ; 
Mr.  Hope  and  I entered  the  dark  room  and  only  myself 
touched  the  plates  during  development.  On  the  fourth 
plate  was  a message  from  the  late  Archdeacon  Colley. 
This  negative  I have  by  me  and  anyone  wishing  to  see 
same  can  do  so  with  pleasure. 

No  one  could  wish  for  a better  test  than  this ; no  one 
but  myself  touched  the  plates  at  any  time  during  the 
sitting.  The  plates  I brought  with  me,  tied  with  special 
knots  to  prevent  any  opening  of  the  packet  or  substi- 
tuting of  another  packet. 

( Signed ) Jno.  Williams. 

Portland  Studio, 

Rhyl. 


The  Testimony  of  JOSEPH  HIGGINBOTTOM,  ESQ., 

VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SHEFFIELD  AND  DISTRICT  SOCIETY 
FOR  PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH 

{An  account  of  a surprise  visit  in  which  the 
sitter  secured  a likeness  of  his  mother,  of  whom 
no  normal  photograph  is  in  existence.) 

^ am  pleased  to  have  this  opportunity  of  adding  my 
testimony  to  the  honesty  of  Mr.  Wm.  Hope  of  the 
Crewe  Circle. 

Herewith  I enclose  a ps>  ic  photograph  of  my 
mother.  [Not  reproduced. — Ed.]  It  has  been  freely 
recognised  by  those  who  knew  her.  Such  is  my  con- 
fidence in  Mr.  Hope  that  I cannot  allow  myself  to 
imagine  for  a moment  that  with  his  extraordinary  gift, 
in  conjunction  with  Mrs.  Buxton  he  would  allow  him- 

[105] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


self  to  be  led  astray  or  deviate  from  the  path  of  recti 
tude  under  any  circumstances. 

( Signed ) J.  Higginbottom. 

Lees  House, 

Norton  Lees, 

Sheffield. 


Proof  from  MRS.  E.  PICKUP, 

OF  40,  WATERLOO  ROAD,  BURNLEY  LANCS. 

(A  strongly  evidential  case  which  describes  how 
the  sitter  visited  the  Crewe  Circle  as  an  absolute 
stranger  and  without  even  an  appointment,  and 
secured  a striking  likeness  of  her  deceased  hus- 
band. ( See  Figs.  28  and  29.)  Extract  from  an 
original  letter  to  Mr.  Hope.) 

No  words  of  mine  can  express  my  gratitude  to  you 
since  receiving  the  photos  this  morning.  The  extra  one 
is  my  dear  husband,  and  just  as  I prayed  he  might  come 
— an  exact  copy  of  the  one  I had  at  home  and  the  one 
I liked  best.  Every  detail  is  so  clear  and  correct,  even 
to  the  dimple  in  the  chin.  What  could  be  more  con- 
vincing, when  I came  to  you  an  absolute  stranger  and 
without  even  an  appointment? 

That  visit  will  remain  imprinted  on  my  memory  as 
one  of  the  brightest  days  in  my  life.  I am  sure  after 
such  evidence  as  this  and  the  way  in  which  you  carried 
out  your  work,  I need  never  suffer  the  pangs  of  loneli- 
ness again,  because  I believe  that  God  has  taken  him  to 
a higher  sphere.  He  will  still  guide  me  and  watch  over 
me  so  long  as  I do  my  part  by  keeping  in  touch  with 
God  and  His  divine  laws. 

I don't  know  that  I could  ask  for  anything  more. 
My  cup  is  full  and  overflowing.  I trust  that  others  who 
come  to  you  may  get  as  good  results,  that  they,  too,  may 
know  the  joy  and  happiness  it  brings. 

( Signed ) E.  Pickup. 

[106] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


From  MRS.  RISKER, 

LATE  OF  DARLASTON 

(An  excellent  case,  in  which  the  sitter  secured 
an  undoubted  likeness  of  her  husband.  A 
number  of  questions  were  submitted  to  Mrs. 
Risker,  and  her  replies  are  given  hereunder.) 

I have  great  pleasure  in  answering  the  questions  you 
ask. 

Question  No.  I. — If  there  is  the  slightest  doubt  con- 
cerning “extra”? 

None  whatever. 

Question  No.  2. — Whether  Mr.  Hope  or  any  one 
connected  with  the  Crewe  Circle  knew  Mr.  Risker  be- 
fore his  death,  or  had  seen  any  photograph  of  him  prior 
to  visiting  Crewe  for  this  sitting? 

No.  The  first  time  I ever  knew  of  Mr.  Hope  or  the 
Crewe  Circle  was  through  an  article  written  by  Miss 
Stead  in  Nash's  Magazine  during  the  latter  part  of  1916 
(after  my  husband’s  death,  which  occurred  August 
15th,  1916). 

Question  No.  3. — In  what  manner  did  I get  into 
touch  with  Crewe  Circle? 

The  article  which  Miss  Stead  wrote  appealed  to  me, 
and  knowing  Miss  Stead  (by  repute)  to  be  a straight- 
forward woman,  the  thought  came,  “Here  apparently 
is  a tangible  proof  of  the  after-life.”  Thereupon  I did 
not  rest  until  I found  out  the  address.  Some  weeks 
later,  a lady  from  Runcorn  who  knew  nothing  of  me 
gave  me  the  address  of  Mr.  Hope. 

Since  above  I have  paid  six  visits  and  have  had  nine 
results — seven  “extras”  and  two  “skotographs” ; upon 
five  visits  I have  taken  my  own  plates  from  Darlaston. 

(Signed)  M.  C.  Risker. 

Late  of  Bilston  Street , 

Darlaston. 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


An  Expression  of  Opinion  from  LADY  GREY 
OF  FALLODEN 

I am  perfectly  ready  to  adhere  to  my  conviction  that 
I have  obtained  evidence  of  supernormal  activities 
through  the  mediumship  of  the  Crewe  Circle,  and  this 
I would  maintain  however  conclusively  they  may  have 
been  convicted  of  fraud  on  other  occasions. 

{Signed)  Pamela  Grey. 

Wilsford  Manor , 

Salisbury. 


The  Evidence  of  H.  BLACKWELL,  ESQ., 

A VICE-PRESIDENT  OF  THE  S.S.S.P. 

{Mr.  Blackwell  is  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the 
history  of  psychic  photography.  His  experiences 
have  been  quite  exceptional.  This  description 
tells  how  he  secured  a photograph  of  a recently 
deceased  sister.) 

With  great  pleasure  I give  my  experience  of  the  good 
work  done  through  the  Crewe  mediums.  In  April, 
1920,  having  fixed  an  appointment  with  Mr.  Hope  for 
a certain  hour  at  the  B.C.P.S.,  I was  there  to  time  with 
an  unopened  box  of  plates.  Of  the  four  plates  exposed 
I found  upon  development  that  only  two  had  any 
psychic  results. 

These  appeared  to  consist  of  several  faint  faces 
merging  one  into  the  other.  From  the  wet  negatives  I 
could  not  recognise  any  of  the  features,  so  asked  for 
prints  to  be  sent  on  in  due  course. 

When  the  prints  came  to  hand  I was  delighted  to 
recognise  the  face  of  my  sister,  but  repeated  five  times, 
as  if  in  her  agitation  she  could  not  concentrate  suffi- 
ciently and  had  moved  during  the  exposure. 

[108] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


She  appeared  as  in  her  final  illness  two  years  previ- 
ously, when  I had  gone  down  into  the  country  to  bid 
“good-bye.” 

As  a testimony  to  the  value  of  psychic  photography 
I may  mention  that  through  the  mediumship  of  Mr. 
R.  Boursnell,  in  London,  and  of  Mr.  W.  M.  Keeler, 
in  Washington,  I have  received  portraits  of  my  grand- 
father, mother,  two  sisters  and  several  of  my  nieces. 
A number  of  friend  have  also  been  taken  in  London 
after  promises  given  in  Canada  and  elsewhere. 

About  twelve  years  ago,  thanks  to  a personal  friend 
who  then  possessed  wonderful  materialising  power,  I 
was  enabled  to  obtain,  using  four  cameras  simultane- 
ously, excellent  photographs  of  my  father,  mother, 
niece  and  several  friends.  They  manifested  for  the 
express  purpose  of  being  taken,  and  in  each  instance 
the  medium  shows  by  the  side  of  the  spirit  visitor. 
The  experiments  were  conducted  in  my  house  and  in 
presence  of  witnesses. 

{Signed)  H.  Blackwell. 

43,  Brownswood  Road , 

Finsbury  Park,  N.  4. 


The  Testimony  of  W.  C.  PUGH,  ESQ., 

OF  MIDDLESBROUGH 

( A straight  statement  by  an  investigator  who  has 
secured  many  recognised  psychic  photographic 
results,  through  the  Crewe  Circle,  in  his  own 
home.) 

It  is  a number  of  years  since  I first  sat  with  the 
Crewe  Circle,  and  I have  sat  with  them  quite  a dozen 
times  since,  and  on  each  occasion  I have  received  con- 
vincing proof  of  the  genuineness  of  their  phenomena. 
I have  beside  me  quite  a collection  of  photographs 

[109] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

taken  by  them,  and  each  photo  has  a message  of  its 
own;  some  contain  extras  of  friends  who  have  passed 
on,  and  others  contain  messages  from  interested  friends 
beyond  the  grave.  The  extras  on  practically  all  my 
photos  have  been  recognised  by  relatives  and  friends. 

I enclose  copy  of  one  of  these  with  two  extras  which 
have  been  readily  recognised  by  all  my  friends  as  my 
father  and  mother,  both  of  whom  had  passed  on  before 
I met  the  Crewe  Circle.  I also  enclose  copies  of  orig- 
nal  photos  for  comparison.  [Not  reproduced. — Ed.] 

My  opportunities  for  testing  the  genuineness  of  the 
Crewe  Circle’s  work  have  been  unique  because  they 
have  taken  over  a hundred  photos  in  my  house  in 
Middlesbrough.  When  they  have  spent  a few  days 
here  they  have  lived  with  us.  My  wife  and  I made  all 
the  arrangements  for  their  visit,  and  entertained  them 
during  their  stay.  Applications  for  sittings  were  made 
to  us  and  we  fixed  them  up.  In  the  vast  majority  of 
cases  the  Crew  Circle  had  never  seen  the  sitters  till  they 
arrived  at  their  appointed  times.  In  many  cases  they 
never  saw  them  again.  Yet  their  success  has  been  phe- 
nomenal. Many  have  received  photos  with  extras 
which  they  recognised  at  sight.  Others  have  taken 
them  home  and  had  them  recognised  by  friends  or  other 
members  of  their  families. 

The  Circle  brought  no  plates  with  them.  Each  sit- 
ter provided  his  or  her  own.  My  sitting-room  was  the 
studio.  My  bath-room  was  the  developing  room.  Un- 
used plates  were  left  behind  when  the  Circle  went  away, 
and  my  lad,  who  has  a camera,  has  been  supplied  with 
a stock  of  plates  for  use  amongst  his  friends. 

To  those  of  us  who  know  the  members  of  the  circle 
so  well,  some  of  the  statements  appearing  in  the  Press 
have  been  very  amusing.  The  idea  of  Mr.  Hope  beat- 
ing the  conjurers  at  their  own  game  is  too  ridiculous 
for  words.  Expert  photographers  who  have  had  ex- 
perience of  Mr.  Hope’s  methods  must  also  have  been 
greatly  amused. 


[no] 


Fig.  24. — Photograph  of  Mrs.  R.  Foulds,  of  Fig.  25. — Photograph  of  Mrs.  Foulds’ 

Sheffield,  with  psychic  photograph  of  her  mother  for  comparison  with  psychic  effect 

mother,  obtained  under  good  test  conditions.  on  Fig.  24. 

Compare  with  Fig.  25.  ( See  p.  125.) 


Fir"  26.— Photograph  of  Mrs.  A.  E.  Griere  with  Fjg.  27.— Photograph  of  Mrs.  Griere’s 

psychic  likeness  of  husband  and  father.  The  sitter  husband  for  comparison  with  his  psychic 

was  a total  stranger  to  the  Crewe  Circle.  Com-  likeness  on  Fig.  26. 

pare  the  lower  face  with  Fig.  27.  {See  p.  127.) 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 

Then  there  is  the  question  of  motive.  Let  me  state 
that  the  Crewe  Circle  have  never  had  one  penny  piece 
out  of  their  various  visits  to  Middle  sb  or  o' . We 
charged  sufficient  from  each  sitter  to  pay  railway  ex- 
penses only,  nothing  more.  We  paid  for  the  railway 
tickets,  that  was  all.  Where  on  earth  was  the  incentive 
for  these  people  to  leave  their  homes  to  come  here  to 
deceive  us?  One’s  sense  of  humour  must  have  been 
neglected  if  they  cannot  see  that  the  whole  of  the 
charges  are  too  funny  for  words. 

That  the  phenomena  are  genuine  I am  con- 
vinced. What  is  behind  the  phenomena  is  another 
matter,  and  does  not  enter  into  the  present  question. 

If  the  scientists  care  to  continue  to  drag  on  behind 
plain  common-sense  people  let  them  do  so.  I have 
scores  of  good  friends  who  have  had  that  experience 
which  no  scientist  can  take  from  them,  and  I prefer 
to  accept  their  opinions,  along  with  my  own  experience, 
rather  than  listen  to  those  people  whose  one  desire 
seems  to  be  to  bolster  up  preconceived  ideas. 

The  world  would  be  better  for  some  more  people  as 
honest  as  are  the  members  of  the  Crewe  Circle. 

( Signed ) William  Cowell  Pugh. 

6i,  St.  Paul's  Road , 

Middlesbrough. 

An  Account  by  MRS.  MARGARET  ELLINOR 

(A  description  of  three  remarkable  recognised 
likenesses  obtained  by  a lady  photographer.) 

I am  anxious  to  help  to  prove  the  truth  of  psychic 
photography,  and  with  this  end  in  view  I am  sending 
herewith  three  photographs  taken  by  Mr.  Hope,  of 
Crewe,  under  test  conditions,  which  contain  recognised 
“extras.”  [Not  reproduced. — Ed.] 

Might  I say  that  in  the  first  place  I was  extremely 
[in] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

sceptical,  haying  some  knowledge  of  photography. 
Even  after  myself  obtaining  a “psycho graph”  I was 
still  in  a doubtful  frame  of  mind,  and  attended  the 
British  College  of  Psychic  Science  to  gather  further 
evidence. 

In  this  way  I came  into  contact  with  Mr.  Hope  and 
Mrs.  Buxton,  and  by  and  by  arranged  through  the 
agency  of  Mrs.  McKenzie,  of  the  College,  to  have  a 
test  sitting  with  Mr.  Hope.  The  results  of  this  sitting, 
quite  apart  from  any  subsequent  sittings,  provided  what 
to  my  mind  were  conclusive  proofs  of  Mr.  Hope’s  gifts 
and  absolute  integrity. 

Enclosed  are  four  photographs  marked.  All  these 
were  taken  under  the  most  stringent  test  conditions.  I 
took  with  me  some  plates  which  had  previously  been 
marked  secretly  by  a second  party  (a  sceptic).  These 
plates  were  then  put  into  the  slide  by  Mr.  Hope  in  my 
presence ; the  slide  was  never  for  a moment  out  of  my 
observation  and  I subsequently  followed  every  manipu- 
lation. 

In  the  case  of  the  photographs  (i)  and  (2)  the 
extra  is  of  my  father.  An  old  original  photograph  of 
my  father  is  enclosed.  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
extras  give  a view  from  a different  angle  to  the  origi- 
nal in  each  case.  My  father  was  unknown  to  Mr.  Hope 
— there  were  no  photographs  of  my  father  available 
to  Mr.  Hope — my  father  passed  over  when  I was  nine 
years  of  age. 

In  photograph  (3)  the  extra  is  of  my  father-in-law, 
an  original  of  whom  is  enclosed.  My  husband’s  father 
has  been  passed  over  seven  years,  and  no  photograph 
of  him  could  be  available  to  Mr.  Hope. 

[112] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


Photograph  (4)  was  taken  at  another  sitting  at  my 
home.  It  is  especially  interesting  inasmuch  as  the  extra 
thereon  was  unrecognised  at  the  time.  After  a lapse  of 
time,  through  incidents  I need  not  explain,  I obtained  a 
clue  to  the  identity  of  the  “extra.”  Finally  I was  able 
to  ascertain  that  the  “extra”  was  one  of  my  girlhood’s 
friends  who  has  now  been  passed  on  many  years.  I 
was  able  to  secure  an  old  original  photograph,  which  is 
enclosed. 

Having  been  a sceptic  myself,  I can  sympathise  with 
those  who  find  it  difficult  to  credit  these  puzzling  phe- 
nomena. At  the  same  time,  I suggest  that  Mr.  Hope 
is  entitled  to  the  sympathetic  treatment  and  fair  deal- 
ing that  should  be  accorded  to  anyone  who  brings  for- 
ward evidence  in  support  of  the  super-physical. 

{Signed)  Margaret  Ellinor. 

77,  'Atlantic  Road , 

Brixton > S.W.  9. 


From  SAMUEL  MADDOCKS,  ESQ., 

HON.  SECRETARY  OF  THE  SHEFFIELD  AND  DISTRICT  SOCIETY 
FOR  PSYCHICAL  RESEARCH 

{The  psychic  effect  secured  by  Mr.  Maddocks  on 
the  occasion  of  the  third  sitting  described  here- 
under is  shown  by  hg.  22.  A normal  photograph 
of  the  late  Mrs.  Maddocks  is  given  for  com- 
parison [fig.  23].) 

I am  absolutely  convinced  that  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs. 
Buxton  are  transparently  honest  and  honourable,  most 
reverent  in  their  Circle  meetings,  and  their  only  desire 

[113] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


is  to  give  comfort  and  consolation  to  those  who  have 
lost  a loved  one.  To  impute  fraud  or  trickery  to  them 
wounded  me  to  the  quick. 

After  several  months’  waiting  I obtained  three  sit- 
tings (with  three  extras)  as  follows: 

1st  Sitting. — To  my  great  surprise  the  “extra”  was 
not  my  first  wife,  but  the  following  message: 

‘Kind  friends,  we  are  glad  to  meet  you  and  for 
the  benefit  of  your  friend  of  the  Psychic  Research 
Society  we  are  giving  this  message,  so  that  he  may 
understand  that,  given  the  right  conditions,  these 
works  can  be  done,  and  we  ask  you  for  our  dear 
medium’s  sake,  to  speak  of  it  as  you  find  it.  God 
bless  you.” 

2nd  Sitting. — This  “extra”  was  quite  unknown  to 
me,  but  on  reaching  home  (Sheffield)  my  second  wife 
(clairvoyant)  exclaimed,  “Why,  that’s  the  same  face 
I’ve  seen  in  our  bedroom  nearly  every  night.” 

yd  Sitting. — The  “extra”  was  my  first  wife  at  last! 
I recognised  it  instantly,  also  relatives  and  friends,  as  a 
very  good  picture  of  what  she  looked  like  at  the  end  of 
twenty  months’  agony  from  cancer.  All  her  teeth  were 
extracted  during  her  illness  on  the  advice  of  a London 
physician,  and  that  accounts  for  the  sunken  appearance 
of  the  mouth.  (See  Figure  22.) 

The  normal  photo  was  taken  several  years  previously. 
(See  Figure  23.) 

( Signed ) Samuel  Maddocks. 
Supt.  Royal  Blind  School, 

BroomhiU, 

Sheffield. 

[1 14] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


The  Testimony  of  JAS.  P.  SKELTON,  ESQ., 

OF  BELFAST 

{The  account  tells  how  Mr.  Skelton  obtained  a 
photograph  of  his  mother,  and  how  later,  with 
two  friends,  he  was  present  when  the  famous 
message  from  the  late  Dr.  W.  J.  Crawford  was 
obtained  on  a photographic  plate  of  their  own, 
under  strict  test  conditions.  See  figs.  3 and  4.) 

I have  known  Mr.  Hope  for  four  or  five  years  now, 
and  have  sat  with  him  about  a dozen  times  as  well  as 
being  closely  associated  during  his  and  Mrs.  Buxton’s 
two  visits  to  Belfast. 

On  January  4th,  1922,  my  mother  passed  to  the 
higher  life.  I was  summoned  to  Blackburn  on  Sat- 
urday, January  28th,  19 22,  and  as  I could  not  return 
to  Belfast  sooner  than  the  Monday  night,  I decided  to 
make  a visit  to  Crewe  with  the  hope  that  I might  get 
her  photograph.  I wrote  to  Mr.  Hope  and  made  an 
appointment  for  the  Monday  morning,  January  30th, 
1922,  and  received  his  reply  agreeing.  On  the  night 
before  I crossed  to  England,  we  held  a brief  circle  at 
home,  and  by  means  of  a small  table,  my  mother  mani- 
fested. I told  her  of  my  intention  of  going  to  Crewe 
and  the  time  that  I would  be  sitting,  and  she  signified 
that  she  would  do  her  best  to  get  through.  I arrived 
in  Crewe  on  the  day  arranged  (about  10  a.m.),  and 
found  that  Mrs.  Buxton  was  ill  in  bed  and  could  not 
sit.  Naturally  I was  much  disappointed.  Mr.  Hope 
noticing  it,  said,  “Never  mind,  we  will  sit  without  her 
and  do  the  best  we  can.”  Mrs.  Buxton’s  daughter 

[115] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

sat  in  her  place,  Mr.  Hope  and  myself  completed  the 
circle.  The  usual  methods  were  adopted.  The  packet 
of  plates  which  I bought  in  Crewe  about  five  minutes 
before  I reached  144,  Market  Street  were  lying  on 
the  table  during  the  course  of  the  sitting  in  full  view 
of  all.  Mr.  Hope  and  I then  proceeded  to  the  dark 
room,  where  I initialled  the  second  two  plates  in  the 
packet,  and  loaded  the  slide  with  them.  Never  once 
did  Mr.  Hope  touch  them.  Miss  Buxton  and  Mr.  Hope 
arranged  the  camera,  etc.,  after  which  I handed  Mr. 
Hope  the  slide.  He  exposed  the  two  plates  and  I after- 
wards developed  them  myself.  On  the  first  was  the 
face  of  my  mother,  just  as  she  appeared  a few  days 
prior  to  her  death.  The  plate  was  hurriedly  dried  and 
a print  was  made  for  me  to  take  with  me,  both  Mr. 
Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton,  who  knew  her  recognised  it 
at  once.  Everyone  at  home  who  knew  her  recognised 
it  immediately,  one  gentleman  saying,  “I  don’t  know 
anything  about  spiritualism,  but  if  you  want  an  inde- 
pendent testimony,  I am  prepared  to  go  on  any  platform 
and  testify  to  this  being  your  mother’s  photograph.” 
To  me  the  remarkable  thing  was,  that  it  was  secured 
exactly  twenty-six  days  after  her  death.  To  say  Mr. 
Hope  tricked,  substituted  plates,  or  in  any  way  de- 
frauded, is  puerile. 

On  a previous  occasion  I secured  a photograph  of  an 
old  friend  of  our  family  who  died  when  I was  a boy. 
It  was  not  recognised  for  a week  after  getting  it,  and 
then  only  by  chance.  I compared  an  original  photo- 
graph of  her  and  it  proved  the  identity  up  to  the  hilt. 

My  most  recent  experience  was  the  securing  of  the 
now  famous  “Crawford”  message  signed  by  himself. 

[116] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


Mr.  J.  W.  Gillmour,  Mr.  S.  G.  Donaldson  and  myself, 
all  of  Belfast,  were  travelling  to  the  Conferences  of  the 
S.N.U.,  Ltd.,  in  London,  and  we  decided  to  break  our 
journey  at  Crewe.  Mr.  Gillmour  bought  a packet  of 
ordinary  Imperial  quarter-plates  from  Mr.  John  Bell, 
of  Garfield  Street,  Belfast,  on  Thursday,  June  29th, 
1922,  telling  Mr.  Bell  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
required.  Mr.  Bell  parcelled  it  up  and  sealed  with  wax. 
We  crossed  to  Liverpool  same  night.  Mrs.  Crawford 
also  crossed  over  with  us  and  we  travelled  together  to 
Crewe,  Mrs.  Crawford  went  on  to  London  and  we  went 
to  see  Mr.  Hope,  arriving  there  about  10.30  a.m.  The 
usual  sitting  was  arranged,  Mr.  Gillmour  produced  the 
sealed  packet,  and  we  all  saw  the  seal  was  unbroken. 
It  was  then  broken  and  the  packet  was  seen  to  be  intact 
as  it  came  from  Mr.  Bell’s  shop.  The  unopened  packet 
was  held  between  the  hands  of  all  present.  Mr.  Don- 
aldson then  took  the  packet  and  proceeded  with  Mr. 
Hope  to  load  the  slides  in  the  dark  room,  Mr.  Donald- 
son alone  handled  the  plates  from  beginning  to  end. 
We  were  all  photographed  together  at  first,  and  then 
separately.  The  first  plate  exposed  shews  a message 
from  Dr.  Crawford.  With  Mr.  Gillmour  as  a sitter 
there  appears  an  (as  yet)  unknown  face.  With  Mr. 
Donaldson  there  was  no  psychic  effect.  With  myself 
a bright  light  appeared.  We  were  all  present  at  the 
development  and  at  no  time  did  Mr.  Hope  touch  the 
plates.  Mr.  Donaldson  did  all  the  work  under  our 
careful  scrutiny.  The  result  was  a surprise  to  us  all. 
(See  Figures  2 and  4.) 

We  are,  however,  mutually  agreed  that  it  is  a bona 

1 1 17] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


fide  message  from  Dr.  Crawford  in  his  own  handwrit- 
ing, with  which  I am  well  acquainted. 

( Signed ) Jas.  P.  Skelton. 

651,  Lisborn  Road , 

Balmoral , 

Belfast. 

From  MISS  ESTELLE  STEAD 

During  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  I have  had  sev- 
eral sittings  with  the  Crewe  Circle,  and  can  state  truly 
that  I have  always  found  both  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Bux- 
ton most  anxious  to  have  me  examine  the  dark  room, 
the  camera,  the  slides,  the  room  in  which  the  photo- 
graphs were  taken,  and  had  I wished  to  examine  any- 
thing else  I am  sure  they  would  have  agreed  to  my 
doing  so. 

At  some  sittings  I have  had  no  results,  whilst  at 
others  the  results  have  been  excellent. 

The  very  first  time  I visited  Crewe  I bought  a box 
of  plates  in  London  and  took  it  with  me.  Mr.  Hope 
never  handled  the  box  at  all  excepting  in  my  presence, 
and  we  obtained  two  excellent  pictures  of  my  father. 
During  that  same  visit  I bought  a box  of  plates  in 
Crewe,  neither  Mr.  Hope  nor  Mrs.  Buxton  had  any 
idea  at  which  shop  I bought  it.  I sealed  the  box  and 
took  it  with  me  to  144,  Market  Street.  I held  it  in  my 
hands  until  we,  Mr.  Hope,  Mrs.  Buxton,  Mr.  Harry 
Walker,  at  whose  house  I was  staying,  and  myself — 
were  seated  round  the  table.  I then  placed  the  box  on 
the  table,  where  it  remained  visible  to  all,  as  the  room 
was  well  lighted  by  gas,  whilst  we  held  the  little  service 
usually  held  by  the  Crewe  Circle.  We  all  then  placed 

[118] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


our  hands  under  and  over  the  box  and  held  it  in  this 
way  for  a little  while.  I then  placed  the  bottom  of  the 
box  against  Mrs.  Buxton’s  forehead  and  then  held  it 
between  my  hands  whilst  instructions  were  given, 
through  Mr.  Hope,  to  the  effect  that  I should  go  into 
the  dark  room  with  him,  unseal  the  box  myself,  take 
out  the  bottom  plate  and  the  plate  next  to  it.  I was 
told  to  take  particular  note  as  to  which  was  the  bottom 
plate.  I was  instructed  to  develop  the  two  plates  in  Mr. 
Hope’s  presence,  but  not  to  allow  him  to  touch  them 
until  I had  developed  them.  Note,  the  box  was  not 
unsealed  until  we  went  into  the  dark  room,  and  the 
plates  were  never  exposed  to  the  light  at  all. 

Nothing  appeared  on  the  bottom  plate,  nor  was  there 
any  sign  of  fogging.  On  the  other  plate  were  two  mes- 
sages, one  in  Archdeacon  Colley’s  handwriting  and  one 
in  Mr.  William  Walker’s  handwriting,  together  with  a 
faint  outline  of  my  father’s  face. 

About  one  year  after  receiving  the  above  I went  up 
to  Crewe  with  Miss  Scatcherd.  I had  previously,  with- 
out saying  a word  to  Miss  Scatcherd  or  anyone,  made 
an  engagement  with  my  brother  Will,  who  passed  over 
in  1907,  to  meet  me  there  and  give  his  picture  if  he 
could  manage  to  do  so.  Miss  Scatcherd  thought  I 
wanted  a picture  of  my  father  or  a message  from  him. 
I do  not  think  either  Mr.  Hope  or  Mrs.  Buxton  knew  of 
my  brother’s  existence,  and  even  if  they  did  they  cer- 
tainly had  no  means  of  getting  hold  of  his  photograph. 
I took  my  own  plates  from  town.  On  the  very  first 
plate  exposed  by  brother’s  face  appears  between  Miss 
Scatcherd  and  myself. 

During  a visit  the  Crewe  Circle  paid  to  the  “W.  T. 

[1 19] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


Stead”  Bureau  in  Baker  Street  in  1919,  at  my  father’s 
request  I took  my  mother  to  have  a sitting  with  them 
without  advising  them  beforehand  as  to  who  it  was  I 
was  bringing.  I took  my  own  plates,  put  them  in  the 
slides  myself  and  stood  over  Mr.  Hope  whilst  he  devel- 
oped the  plates  after  the  sitting.  On  the  plate  exposed 
on  my  mother  alone  there  appears  a very  good  picture 
of  my  father. 

( Signed ) E.  W.  Stead. 

5,  Smith  Square , 

S.W.  1. 


The  Evidence  of  MRS.  ELLEN  JONES, 

OF  KEMPSTON 

(Mrs.  Jones  relates  how  on  two  occasions  she 
obtahied  an  excellent  likeness  of  her  deceased 
husband.  The  second  photograph  referred  to 
shows  a remarkable  likeness  on  comparison  with 
a normal  photograph.) 

I had  a sitting  at  Crewe,  about  four  years  ago,  and 
again  this  last  March.  Success  attended  both  sittings. 
The  March  sitting  took  place  in  my  own  house;  Mr. 
Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton  stayed  with  us  a couple  of  days 
and  we  got  a photo  with  three  “extras”  on  one  plate. 
We  consider  the  last  one  a perfect  likeness  of  my  hus- 
band just  as  he  was  before  his  last  illness.  The  first 
was  very  good,  only  rather  too  much  like  what  he  was 
at  the  time  of  passing  over,  so,  you  see,  it  was  rather 
painful,  but  a truthful  likeness.  My  son  was  with  Mr. 
Hope  the  whole  time  he  developed  the  plates.  He 

[120] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 

knows  quite  a lot  about  photography,  and  we  used  our 
own  plates. 

(Signed)  Ellen  Jones. 

Rees  Cottage, 

Kempston. 

Beds. 


From  THE  REV.  G.  VALE  OWEN 

I have  had  several  sittings  with  Mr.  Wm.  Hope  and 
Mrs.  Buxton  at  Crewe.  I will  briefly  relate  one 
experience. 

In  1910  I was  just  dropping  off  to  sleep  when  I saw, 
in  the  far  corner  of  the  room,  a beautiful  girl’s  face 
smiling  at  me.  It  slowly  disappeared  sideways  behind 
a screen.  I wondered  who  the  owner  was.  It  was 
slightly  oval,  radiant  with  joy,  and  the  eyes  were  laugh- 
ing at  me  with  just  a touch  of  roguish  enjoyment  at 
my  perplexity.  There  was  a certain  efflorescence  perme- 
ating it,  a light  which  did  not  proceed  from  an  exterior 
object,  but  which  seemed  to  be  one  with  the  substance 
of  which  the  face  was  composed.  But  it  was  not  a 
mask.  It  was  a living  face. 

About  eight  years  later  I saw  the  same  face  again, 
this  time  about  six  inches  from  my  own.  On  this  sec- 
ond occasion  there  came  into  my  mind,  as  if  intention- 
ally projected  there,  the  name  “Ruby.”  Ruby  is  my 
daughter  who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  fifteen  months 
in  1896. 

In  August,  1917,  my  wife  and  I paid  a visit  to  the 
Crewe  Circle.  On  one  of  the  negatives  appeared  the 
face  I had  already  seen  clairvoyantly.  It  was  not  full- 
face,  as  I had  seen  it  on  the  two  previous  occasions,  but 

[121] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

in  profile.  This  disposes  of  the  theory  that  it  might 
have  been  a thought- form  of  my  own. 

Later  on,  we  were  having  a talk  with  this  spirit-child 
of  ours  in  our  own  home  at  Orford,  and  I took  the  op- 
portunity to  ask  her  if  it  was  she  who  had  managed 
to  get  her  picture  on  the  plate  at  Crewe.  Her  reply 
was : “I  don’t  know,  daddy.  I was  there  and  tried  to. 
I should  love  to  have  done  it.  Did  I?”  My  answer 
was  that  I was  satisfied  that  she  had  done  so. 

I also  asked  her  why  it  was  in  profile  and  she  said  it 
was  in  order  that  she  might  shew  her  hair.  Even  when 
she  passed  away  as  a baby  her  abundant  light-brown 
hair  was  an  exceptional  feature.  On  the  photograph 
it  was  also  conspicuous. 

I am  satisfied  that  the  picture  is  the  likeness  of  my 
daughter  Ruby.  We  have  received  more  than  one  de- 
scription of  her  as  she  appears  in  the  spirit  life  and  this 
portrait  tallies  with  these  descriptions. 

I am  at  one  with  several  of  my  friends  who  have  sat 
with  them  in  their  conviction  that  there  is  no  trickery 
used  by  these  mediums  in  the  production  of  results 
obtained. 

On  all  my  visits  to  Crewe  I have  been  struck  with 
the  transparent  honesty  a^d  earnestness  of  both  Mr. 
Hope  and  Mrs.  Buxton.  The  only  conclusion  to  which 
I can  come  is  that  they  are  out  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
helping  others  with  their  rare  gift,  at  great  cost  to 
their  own  comfort  and  convenience.  Personally  I am 
grateful  to  them  for  their  self-sacrificing  service. 

{Signed)  G.  Vale  Owen. 

Orford  Vicarage , 

Warrington. 

[122] 


/ 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 
The  Testimony  of  F.  J.  TWELVES,  ESQ., 

OF  MANCHESTER 

Having  had  well  over  twenty  sittings  with  Mr.  Hope 
and  Mrs.  Buxton  of  the  Crewe  Circle,  as  well  as 
intimate  acquaintance  of  sittings  of  close  friends,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  expressing  absolute  conviction 
of  the  genuineness  of  the  results  obtained. 

With  the  exception  of  photographs  of  our  own  son,  I 
cannot  say  that  many  were  undoubtedly  recognised. 
We  have,  however,  had  many  photographs  of  our  boy 
about  which  there  could  be  no  doubt  on  the  part  of 
anybody  who  knew  him  at  all  well.  Of  course,  ordinary 
photographs  of  an  individual  taken  from  different 
angles  or  in  different  positions  shew  considerable  di- 
vergence; perhaps  the  one  approximating  nearest  to 
the  last  photo  before  transition  is  the  one  taken  on 
October  16th,  1921,  copy  of  which  I enclose  together 
with  print  of  the  pretransitional  photograph  for  com- 
parison. [Not  reproduced. — Ed.] 

The  clearest  photo  we  have  had  taken  of  him  was  on 
December  nth,  1020. 

{Signed)  Fred  J.  Twelves 

55,  Victoria  Road, 

Whatley  Range, 

Manchester. 

The  Testimony  of 

ALDERMAN  W.  WHITEFIELD,  J.P., 

OF  BRISTOL 

On  August  19th,  1921,  I called  at  Crewe  on  my  way 
home  from  Llandudno  and  made  my  way  to  the  house 

[123] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


of  Mrs.  Buxton.  I took  with  me  a sealed  packet  of 
plates.  I have  done  a considerable  amount  of  photo- 
graphic work  in  days  gone  by.  I examined  the  camera, 
placed  the  plates  into  the  slides  myself  in  the  dark  room 
and  developed  and  fixed  them  myself.  As  regards  the 
psychic  results  secured,  my  good  wife  and  myself  have 
not  the  slightest  doubt  that  it  is  a photograph  of  one 
of  our  daughters.  I do  pray  that  this  knowledge  may 
bring  joy  and  comfort  to  some  sorrowing  heart. 

{Signed)  W.  Whitefield. 

St.  George, 

Bristol . 


An  Account  of  MRS.  D.  HARTWELL, 

OF  NORTHAMPTON 

( The  photograph  referred  to  by  Mrs.  Hartwell , 
when  compared  with  a normal  photograph  of 
her  late  husband,  leaves  no  doubts  whatever  as 
to  the  question  of  recognition.) 

I went  to  Mr.  Hope  as  a complete  stranger  and  when 
I received  the  photograph,  I recognised  the  “extra”  to 
be  the  likeness  of  my  husband,  whom  I had  lost  during 
the  war.  It  was  also  recognised  by  all  of  his  most  inti- 
mate friends  to  whom  it  was  shown. 

You  have  my  full  permission  to  make  whatever 
use  of  it  you  wish,  and  am  only  too  pleased  to  do  any- 
thing in  my  power  to  help  forward  this  beautiful  cause. 

{Signed)  D.  Hartwell. 

2 , St.  Giles  Terrace, 

Northampton. 


[124] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


An  Account  by  MRS.  R.  FOULDS, 

OF  SHEFFIELD 

(Mrs.  Foulds,  an  experienced  photographer , 
describes  how  she  obtained  a psychic  photograph 
of  her  mother  and  a psychograph  of  more  than 
seventy  words,  under  good  test  conditions.  The 
psychic  photograph  showing  Mrs.  Foulds’s 
mother  is  reproduced  in  fig.  24,  with  normal 
photograph  of  the  same  lady,  fig.  25,  for  com- 
parison.) 

The  “extra”  of  my  mother  (Figure  24)  was  obtained 
at  144,  Market  Street,  Crewe,  in  February,  1920,  under 
the  following  conditions : I took  a sealed  packet  of 
plates,  also  my  own  slide,  which,  though  slightly  dif- 
ferent from  Mr.  Hope’s,  fitted  his  camera;  after  the 
usual  sitting  I went  into  the  dark  room,  broke  the  seal, 
opened  the  packet  of  plates,  placed  one  in  each  division 
of  the  slide,  initialled  them,  put  slide  in  my  dress,  also 
rest  of  plates,  after  being  focussed  I placed  slide  in 
camera  after  a thorough  examination  of  same,  resumed 
my  seat,  when  the  usual  exposure  was  made.  I then 
took  slide  from  camera,  went  into  dark  room  and 
developed  plates,  with  result  that  one  was  normal  and 
the  other  bore  a good  likeness  of  my  mother  (recog- 
nised by  all  of  the  family  who  have  seen  it) . Then  Mr. 
Hope  said,  “I  would  like  you  to  choose  another  plate, 
any  one  you  like,  from  your  packet,  and  develop  that, 
too.”  I chose  the  one  next  but  one  to  the  bottom  of 
packet,  and  on  developing  that,  obtained  a message  of 
upward  of  seventy  words  dealing  with  matters  of  a 
strictly  private  nature. 


[125] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

I wish  to  state  most  emphatically  that  from  begin- 
ning to  end  of  the  experiment,  the  packet  of  plates  never 
left  my  person,  and  those  developed  were  not  touched 
in  any  way  whatever  by  Mr.  Hope  or  Mrs.  Buxton  until 
they  left  the  fixing  bath,  neither  did  the  slide  leave  my 
possession  except  when  I placed  it  in  the  camera. 

( Signed ) R.  Foulds. 

84a,  Eastbank  Road, 

Sheffield. 


From  C.  DOVE,  ESQ., 

OP  SUTTON-IN-ASHFIELD 

(In  forwarding  four  psychic  photographs  with 
normal  photographs  for  comparison,  Mr.  Dove 
gives  the  attestation  hereunder.) 

I can  absolutely  assure  you  that  these  photographs 
were  taken  under  strictest  test  conditions  in  my  home 
and  in  the  presence  of  seven  reliable  witnesses  who  are 
willing  to  attest  to  their  genuineness. 

I myself  bought  the  plates,  etc.,  and  was  the  only  one 
who  handled  them  until  they  were  developed,  which 
was  keenly  watched  by  all.  Mr.  Hope  never  actually 
touched  the  plates.  They  are  fine  photographs  of  Mr. 
W.  J.  Cary,  Mr.  Geo.  Dove,  of  whom  there  is  no  normal 
photo  in  existence,  and  Mrs.  Catton.  I can  quite  well 
assure  you  that  they  caused  quite  a sensation  in  Sutton- 
in-Ashfield  where  all  of  them  were  w^ell  known. 

(Signed)  Charles  Dove. 

Homelea, 

Oak  Tree  Road , 

Sutt  on-in- Ash field. 

[126] 


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CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


The  Evidence  of  MRS.  A.  ELIZABETH  GRIERE, 

OF  DUNFERMLINE 

( The  likenesses  of  father  and  husband  were 
obtained  on  one  photograph,  the  features  of  the 
latter  being  clearer  than  those  of  the  sitter. 

This  photograph  is  shewn  by  fig.  26.  Fig.  27 
reproduced  alongside  gives  a normal  photograph 
of  Mr.  Griere  for  comparison.) 

I have  great  pleasure  in  forwarding  the  enclosed 
pictures.  My  sitting  with  Mr.  Hope  took  place  in 
December  of  1921.  I brought  my  own  plates  as  di- 
rected, and  I wish  to  state  that  throughout  the  whole 
proceedings  Mr.  Hope  did  not  handle  these  plates  unless 
to  load  the  camera  out  in  the  studio.  I took  them  out 
of  the  wrapper,  placed  them  in  the  slide,  unloaded  and 
developed  them.  The  result  of  the  sitting  you  have 
before  you. 

I am  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  “extra”  on  No.  1 
picture  is  the  face  of  my  husband,  and  on  No.  2 the 
‘extras”  are  those  of  my  husband  and  my  father.  You 
will  see  the  undoubted  resemblance  to  the  original 
photograph  herewith  enclosed.  I was  a total  stranger 
0 Mr.  Hope  and  his  good  friend , Mrs.  Buxton , and  I 
hall  always  remain  indebted  to  them  both  for  their 
ourtesy  during  my  visit  to  Crewe.  I trust  this  picture 
lay  be  of  some  use  to  you. 

( Signed ) A.  Elizabeth  Griere. 

20,  Woodmill  Road, 

Dunfermline. 


[127] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


The  Evidence  of  E.  W.  LEE,  ESQ., 

OF  SHANKLIN,  ISLE  OF  WIGHT 

I am  enclosing  four  photographs,  one  normal  and 
three  psychographs.  [Not  reproduced. — Ed.]  All  the 
psychographs  were  taken  in  Crewe.  Our  first  meeting 
was  arranged  through  the  post.  We  were  quite 
strangers  and  had  no  mutual  acquaintances  likely  to 
be  in  touch  with  each  other.  I live  in  the  Isle  of  Wight; 
Mr.  Hope  in  Crewe. 

The  photograph  obtained  on  the  first  occasion  bears 
the  strongest  likeness  to  my  dear  wife. 

The  whole  operations,  less  the  fixing  of  the  slide  in 
the  camera  and  making  the  exposure,  were  undertaken 
by  myself.  Although  I had  not  the  slightest  reason 
to  suspect  Mr.  Hope,  I treated  him  by  my  actions  as  a 
man  open  to  swindle  his  patrons. 

I am  satisfied,  bearing  in  mind  that  Mr.  Hope  had 
not  access  to  any  photograph  of  my  wife  and  following 
upon  the  very  short  time  we  were  together  for  the  first 
time  in  our  lives,  that  the  result  of  that  sitting  could 
not  be  produced  or  attained  solely  by  any  material 
means  known  to  mankind,  science  and  legerdemain 
included. 

In  June  of  this  year  as  we  were  motoring  through 
the  country  a friend  and  myself  called  in  Crewe.  No 
appointment  had  been  made  with  Mr.  Hope,  but  we 
found  him  at  home.  Our  dear  discamate  friends  just 
before  leaving  the  island  on  June  4th  and  June  nth  of 
this  year  stated  they  would  go  with  us,  and  my  friend’s 
wife,  who  had  passed  over  in  November,  1921,  stated 
to  her  husband  that  he  should  see  her  again.  To  fulfil 

[128] 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


this  promise  we  called  at  Crewe.  The  small  figure  at 
the  back  is  my  friend’s  wife.  The  other  one,  if  you 
will  compare  it  with  the  normal  photograph,  will  not 
be  difficult  to  identify  as  my  dear  wife.  On  this  occa- 
sion the  features  are  most  sharply  defined. 

I cannot  express  my  thanks  too  warmly  to  the  Crewe 
Circle  and  my  own  dear  discarnate  friends  for  the 
trouble  taken  on  our  behalf. 

( Signed ) E.  W.  Lee,  Esq. 

Fearnside, 

Clarence  Road, 

Isle  of  Wight. 


The  Evidence  of  R.  S.  HIPWOOD,  ESQ., 

OF  SUNDERLAND 

We  lost  our  only  son  in  France,  August  27th,  1918. 
Being  a good  amateur  photographer,  I was  curious 
about  the  photos  that  had  been  taken  by  the  Crewe 
Circle.  We  took  our  own  plate  with  us  and  I put  the 
plate  in  the  dark  slide  myself  and  put  my  name  on  it. 
We  exposed  two  plates  in  the  camera  and  got  a well- 
recognised  photo.  Even  my  nine-year-old  grandson 
could  tell  who  the  extra  was  without  anyone  saying 
anything  to  him.  Having  a thorough  knowledge  of 
photography,  I can  vouch  for  the  veracity  of  the  photo- 
graph in  every  particular.  I claim  the  print  which  I 
send  you  to  be  an  ordinary  photograph  of  myself  and 
Mrs.  Hipwood  with  the  extra  of  my  son,  R.  W.  Hip- 
wood,  13th  Welsh  Regiment,  killed  in  France  in  the 

[129] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 

great  advance  in  August,  1918.  I tender  to  our  friends 
at  Crewe  our  unbounded  confidence  in  their  work. 

{Signed)  R.  S.  Hipwood. 

174,  Cleveland  Road , 

Sunderland. 


From  LEWIS  CHILDS,  ESQ., 

OF  SHEFFIELD 

( This  description  tells  of  a compact  made  between 
two  friends  that  the  one  to  pass  over  first  should 
endeavour  to  manifest  to  the  other.  The  one 
friend  died , and  a few  months  later  Mr.  Childs 
went  to  Crewe  and  obtained  a fine  photograph  of 
his  friend,  independently  recognised  by  between 
two  hundred  and  three  hundred  people  who  knew 
him.  Mr.  Childs'  account  is  accompanied  by 
certificate  of  recognition  from  the  members  of 
the  deceased  man's  family,  who  were  not 
spiritualists.) 

For  five  years  I worked  side  by  side  with  Mr.  R.  H. 
Turton,  and  on  several  occasions  tried  to  interest  him 
in  psychic  matters  by  showing  him  various  spirit  photo- 
graphs which  I and  various  friends  had  secured.  He 
generally  greeted  the  matter  contemptuously,  and  often 
used  the  words  “bunkum”  and  “rubbish.”  On  one 
notable  occasion,  however,  after  a long  argument,  he 
and  I made  a compact  that  which  ever  of  us  passed 
away  first  should  endeavour  to  give  the  other  some  evi- 
dence of  continued  existence  beyond  death. 

Mr.  Turton  passed  away  on  March  17th  of  this 
year.  Seven  weeks  later  I visited  the  Crewe  Circle. 
I made  no  appointment,  and  Mr.  Hope  and  Mrs.  Bux- 


CONCLUSIVE  PROOF 


ton  could  have  no  idea  that  I was  coming.  I took  a 
packet  of  plates  with  me  and  conducted  the  usual  ex- 
amination of  the  apparatus  used.  I opened  the  box  of 
plates  and  loaded  the  carrier.  After  the  exposure  had 
been  made  I developed  and  fixed  the  plate.  Everything 
was  in  my  own  hands.  As  the  image  came  up  in  the 
developing  dish  I noted  the  face  of  a man  above  my 
right  shoulder.  The  print  shows  a remarkable  likeness 
to  my  friend,  R.  H.  Turton,  and  I am  convinced  that 
he  has  thus  fulfilled  the  compact  made  betwixt  us. 

I have  shown  it  to  his  relatives  and  friends,  and  his 
shopmates,  and  they  have  no  hesitation  in  recognising 
the  photograph.  Though  none  of  the  relatives  are 
spiritualists,  they  assert  that  it  resembles  him  as  he 
lay  in  his  coffin.  No  photograph  of  Mr.  Turton  had 
been  taken  recently,  and  I cannot  discover  one  which 
bears  any  resemblance  to  this. 

Thus  did  my  friend  keep  his  compact,  to  convince 
me  that  memory  lives  beyond  death. 

{Signed)  L.  Childs. 

4 2,  Glover  Road , 

Lowfield , 

Sheffield. 


An  Account  by  MRS.  A.  A.  PEARS, 

OF  COVENTRY 

On  returning  from  our  holidays  on  August  20th, 
1918,  my  husband  and  myself  paid  a surprise  call  at 
144,  Market  Street,  Crewe.  About  three  years  previ- 
ously we  had  lost  our  little  boy  of  fourteen.  None  of 
the  members  of  the  Crewe  Circle  had  ever  seen  him,  or 

[131] 


THE  CASE  FOR  SPIRIT  PHOTOGRAPHY 


even  a photograph  of  him.  On  this  occasion  we  were 
successful  in  obtaining  a wonderful  photograph  of  our 
dear  boy.  I have  not  the  least  doubt  about  the  reality 
and  genuineness  of  this  photograph.  Later  on,  when 
in  Coventry,  Mr.  Hope  kindly  photographed  my  little 
boy’s  grave,  and  we  again  obtained  a fine  photograph 
of  him  as  he  was  just  before  he  entered  the  higher  life. 
With  the  Crewe  Circle  I have  obtained  some  remark- 
able results.  No  one  acquainted  with  the  members  of 
that  Circle  would  for  a moment  doubt  their  honesty, 
and  I pray  that  God  may  bless  and  prosper  them  in 
their  good  work  and  the  sacrifices  they  make  for  the 
benefit  of  their  fellowrs. 

{Signed)  A.  A.  Pears. 

30,  Dorset  Road, 

Coventry. 


What  reply  can  be  given  to  such  definite  statements 
as  these  here  enumerated  by  reputable  witnesses  in  every 
grade  of  life?  Every  reader  with  an  open  mind  will 
agree  that  the  evidence  for  the  reality  of  psychic  pho- 
tography is  overwhelming.  It  is  only  necessary  to 
repeat  that  these  reports  form  but  part  of  a tremendous 
mass  of  accumulated  evidence,  which  is  available  for 
any  serious  student  to  investigate.  Unfortunately,  in 
a popular  volume  of  this  description  it  is  possible  only 
to  reproduce  just  a few  of  the  photographic  results 
referred  to.  As  far  as  possible,  however,  these  photo- 
graphic effects  are  being  accumulated  and  preserved 
so  as  to  form  a permanent  record  of  the  truth  of  psychic 
photography 

THE  END 

[132] 


'A 


GETTY  CENTER  LIBRARY 

.Jliipi, 

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